Sun calculator: sunrise, sunset, twilight and golden hour for any date
Pick a city or type raw coordinates, choose a date, and the table below computes every light window a photographer, filmmaker or property shooter plans around: sunrise, solar noon, sunset, civil/nautical/astronomical twilight, and morning and evening golden-hour and blue-hour windows. Nothing is uploaded — the maths runs locally from the same NOAA-formula engine that powers our city tables.
The day at a glance
The chart below traces the sun’s elevation across the whole day. The amber band is the golden-hour elevation range (−4° to +6°), the blue band is the blue hour (−6° to −4°), and the darker band below is nautical twilight. Dashed lines mark sunrise, solar noon and sunset.
How accurate is this?
- Formulas: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory solar calculator (public domain). NOAA’s own accuracy statement: within about a minute for latitudes between ±72°.
- Validation: 43 published values from the Hong Kong Observatory Almanac 2026 and Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration 2026 Taipei table: 36 matched our engine to the minute; worst deviation 3 minutes (verified 2026-11-16).
- Real-world sunrise can shift by a minute or two with air temperature and pressure (refraction), and by much more if your horizon has hills or buildings.
Elevation-band definitions vary
“Golden hour” and “blue hour” have no scientific definitions. We use the common photography convention — golden ≈ sun between −4° and +6°, blue ≈ −6° to −4° — which follows the bands used by PhotoPills; other references (and other apps) draw the lines slightly differently. Always give yourself a buffer of several minutes on both ends.
Methodology, in brief
The calculator converts your date to a Julian day, then uses NOAA’s solar-position series (geometric mean longitude and anomaly of the sun, obliquity of the ecliptic, equation of time) to find solar noon, and solves the sunrise equation — cos H = (cos 90.833° − sin φ sin δ) / (cos φ cos δ) — with a two-pass refinement exactly as in NOAA’s reference implementation. Twilight and golden/blue windows use the same equation with different target elevations. The full derivation, our source links and the validation table are on the method page.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is the SunAngle calculator?
Engine-level accuracy is about a minute for latitudes between 72°N and 72°S (NOAA’s statement for these formulas). Our implementation was spot-validated against two official national almanacs — see the accuracy box above for the numbers, and the method page for the full validation table.
What exactly counts as golden hour here?
The sun’s centre between −4° (below the horizon) and +6° (above it). In the morning that window starts before sunrise; in the evening it ends after sunset. Definitions vary — see golden hour explained.
And blue hour?
Sun between −6° and −4°. In most mid-latitude cities that is roughly the 20–40 minutes after sunset (or before sunrise); nearer the equator it is shorter. Details in blue hour explained.
Does it handle daylight saving time?
Yes — for listed cities we hardcode IANA-style rules for 2026–2027 (US, EU, Australia). The offset is evaluated at each event’s own moment, so transition days are handled correctly. Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo and Singapore observe no DST at all.
Why is my observed sunrise different?
Calculation assumes a flat sea-level horizon and standard refraction. Terrain, buildings, haze and unusual pressure all shift what you actually see. Near mountains the difference can exceed the calculator’s window — scout your foreground and treat these times as the sea-level baseline.
Does anything get sent to a server?
No. Everything is computed in your browser; there is no request, no logging, no account.
A sturdy travel tripod
Golden and blue hour both mean low light. A solid tripod is the single accessory that keeps those frames sharp — worth owning before you chase any filter.
Check price →Related
- How sunrise times are actually calculated — formulas, sources and our validation table
- Golden hour explained and blue hour explained
- Monthly city tables — quick reference without the form
- Sun-position apps vs printed tables — which to trust on a shoot