The different twilights
- Civil twilight (sun down to 6° below the horizon): you can still see without a torch.
- Nautical twilight (down to 12°): the horizon is still visible at sea; it is almost dark on land.
- Astronomical twilight (down to 18°): beyond that, the sky is fully dark.
Golden hour and blue hour
Golden hour is when the sun is low (less than 6° above the horizon): warm, soft light and long shadows, loved by photographers. Blue hour comes just after sunset (sun about 4° to 6° below the horizon, and before sunrise): the sky turns deep blue.
How accurate is it?
Times are calculated in your browser with positional astronomy formulas: about one minute for the sun and a few minutes for the moon. Terrain (mountains, cliffs) can delay the actual sunrise or bring sunset forward.
How to use it
- Choose the place: pick a town from the list, use your location, or enter coordinates (latitude, longitude) for a summit, a surf spot or a remote campsite.
- Choose the date: today by default, or any day to plan a trip, a wedding or a photo shoot.
- Read the day timeline: night, twilights, blue hour, golden hour and full daylight are coloured, with exact times.
- Check the moon: rise and set times, phase and illuminated percentage, useful for night outings or stargazing.
- Print or export the month table to pin up or keep in a trip notebook.
Some orders of magnitude
- In London, the day lasts over 16½ hours at the summer solstice and under 8 hours at the winter solstice. The further north, the bigger the gap.
- Civil twilight lasts about half an hour in Western Europe, slightly longer in summer. Near the equator it lasts only about twenty minutes.
- The shortest day is not the day of the earliest sunset: in Europe the earliest sunsets come around mid-December and the latest sunrises in early January, because of the equation of time.
- A full moon rises roughly at sunset; the moon then rises about 50 minutes later each day.
Practical uses
- Photography: schedule the shoot during golden hour for warm light and long shadows, or blue hour for lit cityscapes.
- Hiking and climbing: the end of civil twilight is the real limit for walking without a head torch. Combine with the hiking time calculator.
- Astronomy: true darkness starts at the end of astronomical twilight; a new moon gives the darkest sky.
- Fishing, hunting, sailing: nautical twilight marks when the horizon stays visible at sea.
Limits
Times assume a clear horizon at sea level. In a valley or facing a ridge, the sun disappears earlier; at altitude, the horizon is lower and the day slightly longer. Atmospheric refraction is modelled in the standard way but can vary by a minute or two with temperature.
Guide written and checked by Erwan Hautot · updated 5 November 2026.