Sunrise/Sunset & Golden Hour Calculator
Enter a location, date, and time zone offset to see sunrise, sunset, solar noon, and the golden and blue hours on either side of them.
How Sunrise/Sunset & Golden Hour Calculator Works
This calculator works out when the sun rises, sets, and passes solar noon at a given latitude, longitude, and date, then derives the golden hour and blue hour windows photographers use for warm, soft light -- all from the sun's calculated angle above or below the horizon.
Formula & Method
It uses the classic U.S. Naval Observatory sunrise/sunset algorithm: from the day of the year and longitude it estimates the sun's mean anomaly and ecliptic longitude, converts those into right ascension and declination, and then solves for the hour angle at which the sun crosses a given zenith angle at your latitude. Standard sunrise/sunset uses a zenith of 90.833° (accounting for the sun's apparent radius and atmospheric refraction). Golden hour is defined as the sun between 6° above and 4° below the horizon (zenith 84°-94°); blue hour is the sun between 4° and 6° below the horizon (zenith 94°-96°). The result is converted from UTC into local time using the UTC offset you provide.
Worked Example
For New Delhi (28.6139°N, 77.2090°E) on June 21 with a UTC+5.5 offset: the calculator estimates sunrise at about 5:24 AM and sunset at about 7:22 PM, giving a day length of roughly 13h 58m and a solar noon near 12:23 PM. These times are estimates from a solar-position formula -- actual observed sunrise/sunset can shift by a minute or two due to local terrain, elevation, and atmospheric conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why do I need to enter a UTC offset instead of the calculator detecting my time zone automatically?
- Solar position depends only on latitude, longitude, and date -- it has no inherent concept of time zones or daylight saving rules. You supply the UTC offset so the calculator can convert its internal UTC-based result into your local clock time, including any DST adjustment you want reflected.
- What is golden hour and why does it matter for photography?
- Golden hour is the period when the sun sits low in the sky (between 6° above and 4° below the horizon in this calculator), producing warm, soft, low-contrast light that's popular for portrait and landscape photography. It happens once shortly after sunrise and once shortly before sunset.
- What's the difference between golden hour and blue hour?
- Golden hour is when the sun is near the horizon and still lighting the sky with warm tones; blue hour follows (in the evening) or precedes (in the morning) it, when the sun has dropped further below the horizon (4°-6° down) and only indirect, cooler-toned skylight remains.
- Why does the calculator say "never rises" or "never sets" for some locations?
- At high latitudes near the poles, during certain times of year the sun's daily path never crosses the horizon at all -- it stays above it all day (polar day) or below it all day (polar night). When the underlying formula detects this mathematically for your latitude, date, and zenith angle, it reports "never rises" or "never sets" instead of a clock time.
Times are estimated to within a minute or two using standard solar-position formulas — local terrain, weather, and exact atmospheric conditions can shift the real moment slightly. Golden hour is the sun between 6° above and 4° below the horizon; blue hour is 4°–6° below.