Sunrise and Sunset Times
Calculate exact sunrise, sunset, solar noon, civil dawn, civil dusk, and daylight duration for your current GPS location, any U.S. city or ZIP Code, latitude/longitude coordinates, or a U.S. street address using NOAA solar position equations.
Use your current GPS location, enter coordinates or a U.S. street address, or pick a sample location above.
Solar Position & Twilight Details
What time zone am I in? U.S. time zone map Time difference calculator What are my coordinates?
How Sunrise, Sunset, and Civil Twilight Are Calculated
This solar calculator computes daily sunrise, sunset, solar noon, civil dawn, civil dusk, and total daylight duration for any date and location on Earth using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) General Solar Position Equations, derived from Jean Meeus’s Astronomical Algorithms. All calculations run directly in your browser using the fractional Julian century, geometric mean solar longitude and anomaly, the Equation of Time, and solar declination for your exact latitude and longitude:
- Official Sunrise and Sunset (90.833° Solar Zenith): Although the geometric horizon sits 90° from the zenith, Earth’s atmosphere refracts (bends) sunlight upward by about 34 arcminutes near the horizon, and the Sun’s visible disk has an apparent semi-diameter of 16 arcminutes. Official sunrise and sunset are defined at a solar zenith angle of
90° 50′(90.833°)—the instant the upper limb of the Sun appears on or disappears below a sea-level horizon. - Civil Dawn and Civil Dusk (96.0° Solar Zenith): Civil twilight spans the period when the geometric center of the Sun is between 0° and 6° below the horizon. Under clear weather conditions, civil twilight provides sufficient ambient illumination for most outdoor activities without street lights.
- Solar Noon and the Equation of Time: Solar noon is the exact minute when the Sun crosses your local meridian and reaches its highest altitude angle in the sky. Because Earth’s orbit is elliptical and tilted by 23.44°, and because time zones span 15° or more of longitude, solar noon rarely occurs at 12:00 PM on your wall clock.
- Polar Day (Midnight Sun) and Polar Night: Poleward of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles (roughly
±66.56°latitude, including Utqiagvik, Alaska), the Sun remains above the horizon for 24 hours in summer and stays below the horizon in winter; our calculator automatically detects and reports both conditions.
Factors That Affect Observed Horizon Times
NOAA equations assume a flat sea-level horizon and standard atmospheric pressure and temperature. High mountain ridges, canyon walls, or tall buildings delay visible sunrise and advance sunset, while standing on an elevated peak allows you to see the sun slightly earlier at dawn and later at dusk. Check your terrain height on What Is My Elevation? or verify your local zone on What Time Zone Am I In?.