When will the sun come up for a morning run, and how long until sunset for an evening photo shoot? This calculator gives sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length and the three stages of twilight for any date and place on Earth. Pick one of 48 cities, which also sets the local time zone with daylight saving time, or enter your own latitude and longitude.
How to use the sunrise and sunset calculator
- Choose a location. For anywhere not on the list, pick Custom location and enter latitude (north positive) and longitude (east positive) in decimal degrees.
- Pick the date.
- Leave the time zone on Automatic to show local clock time for the city, including daylight saving time, or choose a fixed UTC offset. For custom locations, choose the offset yourself; otherwise one is estimated from the longitude.
- Read sunrise, sunset, solar noon and day length on the tape. The tables below list all twilight times and the sunrise and sunset on the 21st of each month.
The NOAA solar equations
The calculator uses the solar position algorithm published by NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory, which is based on Jean Meeus’s Astronomical Algorithms. For each date it computes the Julian century T, then the sun’s declination δ and the equation of time EoT from the sun’s mean longitude, anomaly and the tilt of Earth’s axis.
Solar noon is when the sun crosses the local meridian:
Sunrise and sunset happen when the sun’s center is 0.833° below the horizon, a figure that allows for the sun’s radius (about 0.27°) and the bending of light by the atmosphere (about 0.57°). The hour angle H of that moment is:
where φ is the latitude. Each estimate is then refined by recomputing the sun’s position at that moment. Twilight uses the same formula with 96°, 102° and 108°. If cos H is greater than 1 the sun never rises (polar night); if it is less than −1 the sun never sets (midnight sun).
Worked example: New York, June 21, 2026
- Declination δ = 23.438°, equation of time = −1.87 minutes, offset UTC−4 (EDT).
- Solar noon = 720 + 296.0 + 1.87 − 240 = 777.9 minutes = 12:58 PM.
- With φ = 40.71°, H = 113.2°, or 452.8 minutes either side of noon.
- After refinement: sunrise 5:25 AM, sunset 8:31 PM, day length 15 hours 6 minutes. Civil twilight runs from 4:52 AM to 9:04 PM.
Six months later, on December 21, the same city gets sunrise at 7:17 AM, sunset at 4:32 PM and 9 hours 15 minutes of daylight.
Why the earliest sunset is not on the shortest day
Earth’s elliptical orbit and tilted axis make solar noon drift by up to about 16 minutes through the year; this drift is the equation of time. In December, solar noon moves later each day while the day length is barely changing, so sunsets start getting later before sunrises do. In New York the earliest sunset of 2026 is around 4:28 PM on December 8 and the latest sunrise of the season is around 7:20 AM on January 4, 2027.
Twilight at a glance
| Phase | Sun below horizon | What you can see |
|---|---|---|
| Civil twilight | 0.833° to 6° | Enough light for outdoor activities; bright planets appear |
| Nautical twilight | 6° to 12° | Horizon still visible at sea; brighter stars appear |
| Astronomical twilight | 12° to 18° | Sky almost fully dark; faint objects still washed out |
| Night | more than 18° | Full darkness for astronomy |
Near the summer solstice at high latitudes, twilight can last all night; London, for example, never reaches astronomical darkness in mid-June. To convert the times for someone in another zone, use the time zone converter, and to convert coordinates from degrees-minutes-seconds, the decimal degrees to DMS converter.
Frequently asked questions
What time is sunrise and sunset in New York on the summer solstice?
On June 21, 2026 the sun rises at 5:25 AM and sets at 8:31 PM EDT, giving 15 hours 6 minutes of daylight. On December 21, 2026 it rises at 7:17 AM and sets at 4:32 PM EST, only 9 hours 15 minutes.
What is civil twilight?
The period when the sun's center is between 0.833° and 6° below the horizon. There is usually enough light for most outdoor activities without lights. Nautical twilight runs to 12° below and astronomical twilight to 18°.
Why isn't the earliest sunset on the shortest day?
The equation of time shifts solar noon later through December. In New York the earliest sunset comes around December 8 and the latest sunrise around January 4, even though the shortest day is December 21.
How accurate are the times?
Usually within a minute for latitudes between about 72° north and south. Real sunrise can differ by a few minutes because of hills, buildings, elevation and unusual air temperature, which bend sunlight differently.
What do polar night and midnight sun mean?
Above the Arctic Circle or below the Antarctic Circle, the sun can stay above the horizon for 24 hours in summer (midnight sun) or never rise in winter (polar night). The calculator reports these instead of times, as it does for Tromsø in June and December.