What is the golden hour?
The golden hour is the stretch of time shortly after sunrise and shortly before sunset when the sun sits low in the sky — roughly between the horizon and about 6° above it. Sunlight travels through more atmosphere at this angle, scattering away harsh blue tones and leaving warm, soft, golden light with long, gentle shadows. It is a favorite window for photographers, filmmakers and anyone who loves a flattering glow.
Just before the morning golden hour and just after the evening one comes the blue hour, when the sun is below the horizon and the sky turns deep, even blue. Between them sit dawn and dusk (civil twilight), when there is still enough light to see clearly even though the sun is not yet up or has already set.
How these times are calculated
Everything here is computed with standard solar-position math (the NOAA sunrise/sunset algorithm) right in your browser — no data is sent anywhere. For your date we work out the sun's declination and the equation of time, then find solar noon for your longitude. For each event we solve the hour angle H from cos(H) = (sin h − sin lat · sin dec) ÷ (cos lat · cos dec), where h is the target sun altitude, and place the event at solar noon ± H. Sunrise and sunset use h = −0.833° (accounting for refraction and the sun's disc), civil twilight uses −6°, and the golden hour edge uses +6°. Times are calculated in UTC and then displayed in your device's local timezone.
This is an educational tool. Atmospheric conditions and elevation can shift real-world times by a minute or two, so treat the results as a close estimate rather than an exact prediction.
A worked example
On June 21 in New York, sunrise is around 5:25 AM, so the morning golden hour runs roughly 5:25–6:31 AM. In the evening, sunset is near 8:31 PM and the golden hour runs roughly 7:25–8:31 PM. The blue hour follows for about another 30 minutes after that, fading as the sun drops past 6° below the horizon. Because daylight is near its longest at the summer solstice, these windows are wider and the light lingers longer than in midwinter.
The table below maps each light stage to the sun's altitude so you can picture what the sky looks like at a glance.
| Light stage | Sun angle | How it looks |
|---|---|---|
| Blue hour | −6° to −4° | Cool, even blue twilight with the sun just below the horizon. |
| Golden hour | −4° to +6° | Warm, soft, directional light with long, gentle shadows. |
| Daytime | > 6° | Brighter, harsher light and short, hard-edged shadows. |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the golden hour?
- The golden hour is the roughly 60 minutes just after sunrise and just before sunset, when the sun sits about 0–6° above the horizon. The light is soft, warm and directional, casting long, gentle shadows that flatter most subjects.
- What is the blue hour?
- The blue hour is the cooler twilight period just before sunrise and just after sunset, when the sun is about 4–6° below the horizon. The sky takes on a deep, even blue and the light is dim but still usable.
- How long does the golden hour last?
- It varies with latitude and season. The golden hour is shortest near the equator, where the sun climbs steeply, and longer near the poles and in winter, where the sun rises and sets at a shallow angle — so it can stretch well beyond an hour.
- Is the golden hour the same time every day?
- No. It shifts with the date and your latitude as the sun's path through the sky changes across the year. Each day's golden hour starts and ends at slightly different clock times.
- What's the best time of day for photos?
- For warm, flattering light, shoot during the golden hour shortly after sunrise or before sunset. For moody, cool tones, try the blue hour; midday sun tends to be the least flattering because shadows are short and harsh.
- Are these times in my local timezone?
- Yes. Times are computed in UTC from the sun's position and shown in your device's local timezone. If you calculate for a location in another timezone, the clock times are still displayed in your own local time.
- Do you store my location?
- No — geolocation is used only in your browser. Your coordinates are read on this page to run the calculation and are never sent to a server or saved.