Sunrise and Sunset Calculator: Times, Daylight, Twilight

Find sunrise, sunset, first and last light and hours of daylight for any U.S. place and date, in local time with daylight saving time handled.

Tool inputs stay in your browser · optional AI search sends your query

Good to know: Scope: sunrise, sunset, solar noon, first and last light (civil twilight) and length of daylight for one date at a latitude and longitude you enter, shown in the U.S. or territory time zone you pick. Not included: looking up a city or ZIP code (enter coordinates instead), moonrise and moonset, nautical and astronomical twilight, golden hour, hills, buildings, height above sea level and weather, all of which can shift what you actually see. The math: the sun’s declination and the equation of time come from the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) “Approximate Solar Coordinates” algorithm (about 1 arcminute within two centuries of 2000); the sunrise, sunset and solar noon times come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Global Monitoring Laboratory formulas (hour angle at a zenith of 90.833°, which NOAA says approximates atmospheric refraction plus the size of the sun’s disk). NOAA notes that errors grow away from the equator and that observed times can differ from calculations. The U.S. Naval Observatory defines sunrise and sunset as the top edge of the sun on the horizon and civil twilight as the sun’s center 6° below the horizon. Time zones and daylight saving time follow NIST: daylight saving time starts at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and ends at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of November; Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa do not use it. Dates from 2007 to 2099 (the current rule started in 2007; Congress can change it). Everything stays in this browser tab; nothing is sent or saved. Independent ToolsKo calculation. Sources reviewed November 12, 2026.

How to use it (step by step)

1Find your place’s latitude and longitude: in most map apps, press and hold (or right-click) the spot and copy the two numbers. In the U.S. the longitude is negative, for example 38.8895 and -77.0353 for the Washington Monument.
2Pick the time zone of that place and the date. Leave the date empty for today.
3Read sunrise, sunset and hours of daylight. First light (civil dawn) and last light (civil dusk) tell you when it is light enough to be outside without a flashlight.

Words to know

Latitude and longitude: Two numbers that pin a spot on Earth. Latitude is how far north (+) or south (−) of the equator; longitude is how far east (+) or west (−) of Greenwich, England. U.S. mainland longitudes are negative.
Civil twilight: The time just before sunrise and just after sunset when the sun is less than 6° below the horizon. The sky is still bright enough for most outdoor activities.
Solar noon: The moment the sun is highest in the sky that day. It is rarely exactly 12:00 on the clock because of time zones, daylight saving time and Earth’s orbit.
Daylight saving time: Clocks move 1 hour ahead from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, so sunrise and sunset happen 1 hour later on the clock.

Explore tools for Australia, the US & Europe →

Sources & methods

References checked November 11, 2026. Read each tool’s scope and assumptions before relying on its result.

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