Free tool
Golden Hour Calculator
Golden hour and blue hour times for any city and date, plus sunrise, sunset, every twilight and the Moon's phase. Pick a place or use your location. Times show in that place's local time.
When is golden hour?
Golden hour is the time around sunrise and sunset when the Sun is low: from 6° above the horizon to 4° below it. The light is warm and comes in at a low angle, so shadows are long and faces don't squint. In the evening it starts about an hour before sunset and ends shortly after. In the morning it runs the other way. How long it lasts depends on your latitude and the season. Near the equator it's short. Far north or south in summer it can last for hours.
When is blue hour?
Blue hour follows golden hour in the evening and comes before it in the morning, while the Sun is 4° to 6° below the horizon. The sky turns deep blue and city lights balance with the sky, which is why most cityscapes are shot then. It usually lasts 10 to 20 minutes at mid-latitudes.
The twilights
- Civil twilight ends when the Sun is 6° below the horizon. After that you need lights to work outdoors.
- Nautical twilight ends at 12° below. The horizon at sea is no longer visible.
- Astronomical twilight ends at 18° below. The sky is fully dark, which is what you need for the Milky Way and faint stars. In summer, places north of about 48.5° get no full darkness around the solstice.
This calculator uses the same definitions as the Still Dark app. It uses standard low-precision formulas, so times can differ from other sources by a minute or two. Hills, buildings and clouds can block the Sun earlier than the times shown.
In Still Dark, Photography Hours and All Twilights show these windows with countdowns, and the planner draws the Sun's direction on the map for any place and date, so you can see where the light will fall before you go.
