Golden hour calculator
Golden hour is not an hour. It is defined by where the sun sits, so the window changes with your latitude and the date — from 20 minutes at the equator to most of an evening in the far north.
- Latitude
- 40.7128°
- Longitude
- -74.0060°
- Time zone
- America/New_York
Sunrise
06:19 AM
Sunset
07:34 PM
Solar noon
12:57 PM
Sun at 58.8° above horizon
Day length
13h 15m
−2m 33s vs yesterday
Photography light
- Blue hour (morning)
- 05:50 AM – 06:01 AM
- Golden hour (morning)
- 06:19 AM – 06:55 AM
- Golden hour (evening)
- 06:57 PM – 07:34 PM
- Blue hour (evening)
- 07:51 PM – 08:02 PM
Twilight
- Astronomical dawn
- 04:41 AM
- Nautical dawn
- 05:16 AM
- Civil dawn
- 05:50 AM
- Civil dusk
- 08:02 PM
- Nautical dusk
- 08:36 PM
- Astronomical dusk
- 09:12 PM
Sun at solar noon: 58.8° elevation, bearing 180° (S). Times assume a flat horizon at sea level.
The four windows worth planning around
Blue hour, morning
Sun 6° to 4° below the horizon. Deep even blue in the sky, no direct sun, city lights still on. The best window for skylines and interiors that need to balance with a window.
Golden hour, morning
From sunrise until the sun reaches about 6° elevation. Warm, low, raking light. Shadows are long and soft, and the sun is weak enough to shoot almost directly into.
Golden hour, evening
The mirror image: from 6° elevation down to sunset. Usually warmer than the morning because the day's heat has put more dust and haze into the air.
Blue hour, evening
Sunset until the sun is 6° below. Shorter than most people expect at low latitudes — in the tropics you may have 20 usable minutes.
Why the fixed-hour rule breaks
The sun does not descend at the same rate everywhere. Near the equator it plunges almost perpendicular to the horizon, so it passes through the golden hour band quickly. At high latitudes it approaches the horizon at a shallow angle and lingers. In midsummer above about 60° it can graze along just below the horizon for hours, giving an extended golden light that photographers travel for.
Because we solve for the sun's elevation rather than offsetting from sunset, the windows above are correct at any latitude and any date. Try the same date in Singapore and Reykjavik to see the difference.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does golden hour last?
- It depends entirely on your latitude and the season, and it is often nothing like an hour. At the equator the sun drops almost vertically and golden hour lasts about 20 minutes. In Reykjavik in June the sun skims the horizon for hours. That is why a fixed 'one hour before sunset' rule fails so often.
- What is the difference between golden hour and blue hour?
- Golden hour is when the sun sits between roughly 6° above and 4° below the horizon: warm, low, directional light with long soft shadows. Blue hour follows in the evening, from 4° to 6° below, when the sun is gone but the sky still glows a deep blue. Blue hour is the window where sky brightness and artificial lights balance, which is why cityscapes are shot then.
- Why does my camera app give different golden hour times?
- Most apps use a fixed offset from sunrise or sunset rather than the sun's actual elevation. That is close enough at mid-latitudes in spring, and badly wrong in Norway in June or Singapore any time. We solve for the elevation directly.
- Does terrain change golden hour?
- Yes, substantially. These times assume a flat horizon at sea level. A mountain range to the west cuts the evening short; shooting from a summit extends it. Use these as the astronomical reference and scout the actual sightline.