Planning a sunrise hike, a sunset photography session, or just curious when the sun rises and sets at your next travel destination? The Sunrise & Sunset Finder is a free interactive tool that gives you precise sun times for any location on the planet. Simply click anywhere on the map or search for a city, and you’ll instantly see sunrise, sunset, golden hour, and blue hour times — adjusted to the correct local timezone.
Whether you’re a landscape photographer chasing the perfect golden hour, a traveler planning your day, or an outdoor enthusiast timing your activities around daylight, this tool does the heavy lifting. It combines accurate astronomical calculations with an interactive world map that shows the real-time day/night boundary across the globe, so you can see at a glance where the sun is shining right now.
The tool is completely free to use, requires no sign-up, and works on any device. Use the date picker to plan ahead, compare two dates side by side, or switch to photography mode for detailed golden hour and blue hour windows. Everything updates in real time as you explore the map.
What Is the Sunrise & Sunset Finder?
The Sunrise & Sunset Finder is a web-based tool that calculates accurate sunrise, sunset, solar noon, and twilight times for any point on Earth. It uses the SunCalc astronomical library, which implements well-established solar position algorithms, to compute sun times based on geographic coordinates and date. Unlike simple lookup tables, the calculations account for the observer’s exact latitude and longitude, giving you precise results whether you’re checking times for a major city or a remote mountain peak.
The tool overlays a day/night terminator on the interactive map, showing the boundary between sunlight and darkness as it moves across the globe. This visual representation makes it easy to understand how daylight varies by location and season. You can watch how the terminator shifts as you change dates, which is especially useful for understanding the dramatic differences in daylight hours at higher latitudes throughout the year.
How to Use the Sunrise & Sunset Finder
Search for a location: Type any city, address, or landmark into the search bar. The tool uses OpenStreetMap geocoding to find your location and centers the map on it. You can also click directly on the map to select any point — useful for checking sun times at specific trailheads, beaches, or viewpoints that might not have a formal address.
Use your current location: Click the location button to let the tool detect your position using your browser’s geolocation. This is the quickest way to check today’s sun times for where you are right now.
Change the date: Use the date picker to see sunrise and sunset times for any date. This is essential for planning future trips, events, or photo shoots. You’ll see the sun arc visualization update to reflect the sun’s path across the sky for your selected date, which changes significantly between summer and winter.
Compare two dates: Enable compare mode to see sun times for two dates side by side. This is particularly helpful when you want to understand how daylight changes between seasons, or when comparing conditions for two potential trip dates. The tool clearly shows the differences in sunrise time, sunset time, and total daylight duration.
Photography mode: Toggle photography mode to see detailed golden hour and blue hour windows. For photographers, these are the most important times of day — the soft, warm light of golden hour and the cool, moody tones of blue hour can transform an ordinary scene into something extraordinary. The tool shows both morning and evening windows so you can plan your shoot accordingly.
Key Features
Precise Sun Times
Get accurate sunrise, sunset, solar noon, and twilight times (civil, nautical, and astronomical) for any location. The calculations use your exact coordinates, not just a city-level approximation, so results are reliable even for locations far from city centers. All times are automatically converted to the correct local timezone, including proper handling of daylight saving time transitions.
Interactive Day/Night Map
The world map displays the real-time day/night terminator — the line that separates the sunlit side of Earth from the dark side. This isn’t just a static overlay; it updates based on your selected date and time, so you can visualize how the terminator moves throughout the day and across seasons. The map supports full zoom and pan, powered by MapLibre GL for smooth performance even on mobile devices.
Sun Arc Visualization
A sun arc diagram shows the sun’s path across the sky from sunrise to sunset. This visualization helps you understand not just when the sun rises and sets, but how high it climbs at solar noon and how its path changes with the seasons. At high latitudes in summer, you’ll see the sun barely dipping below the horizon; in winter, it traces a low, short arc. This information is valuable for photographers planning compositions, architects considering natural lighting, and anyone curious about solar geometry.
Golden Hour & Blue Hour
Photography mode provides exact golden hour and blue hour windows for both morning and evening. Golden hour — the period shortly after sunrise and before sunset — produces warm, directional light with long shadows that photographers prize. Blue hour occurs before sunrise and after sunset when the sun is below the horizon but still illuminates the sky with deep blue tones. Knowing these exact windows lets you arrive on location at the right time with your camera ready.
Timezone-Aware Results
Every calculation automatically detects and applies the correct timezone for the selected location. This eliminates the common confusion of seeing sun times in UTC or the wrong timezone. Whether you’re checking times for a location across the globe or right at a timezone boundary, the results always reflect what a clock on the wall would show at that location on that date.
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate are the sunrise and sunset times?
The tool uses the SunCalc library, which implements standard astronomical algorithms for solar position calculations. For most locations and dates, the calculated times are accurate to within one to two minutes of observed sunrise and sunset. The primary source of variation is local topography — a mountain on the horizon or a deep valley can shift the apparent sunrise or sunset by several minutes compared to the calculated time, which assumes a flat horizon at sea level.
What is golden hour and when does it occur?
Golden hour is the period of time shortly after sunrise and shortly before sunset when the sun is low on the horizon, producing warm, soft, and directional light. Technically, it corresponds to when the sun is between 0° and roughly 6° above the horizon. The exact duration varies by latitude and time of year — at the equator, golden hour can be quite brief (about 20–30 minutes), while at higher latitudes it can last well over an hour, especially near the solstices.
What is blue hour?
Blue hour is the twilight period before sunrise and after sunset when the sun is below the horizon but the sky takes on a deep blue color. It roughly corresponds to civil twilight, when the sun is between 0° and 6° below the horizon. Blue hour light is even, diffused, and cool-toned, making it ideal for cityscape photography where artificial lights contrast beautifully against the blue sky. Like golden hour, its duration depends on your latitude and the time of year.
Can I use this tool for locations in the Arctic or Antarctic?
Yes. The tool correctly handles polar regions where the sun may not rise or set at all during certain times of year. During polar day (midnight sun), the tool will indicate that the sun does not set. During polar night, it will show that the sun does not rise. The day/night terminator on the map also accurately reflects these conditions, making it easy to visualize the extent of polar day and night across the Arctic and Antarctic circles.
Does the tool account for daylight saving time?
Yes. The tool automatically detects the timezone for your selected location and applies the correct UTC offset for your chosen date, including any daylight saving time adjustments. This means if you select a date in summer for a location that observes DST, the displayed times will correctly reflect the shifted clocks. If you compare a summer date with a winter date, the times will show the proper offset for each.
Do I need to create an account or pay to use this tool?
No. The Sunrise & Sunset Finder is completely free to use with no account required. All calculations happen in your browser — no data is sent to any server, and no personal information is collected. The geolocation feature is optional and only activates when you explicitly click the location button; your position data stays in your browser and is never stored or transmitted.
Why do sunrise and sunset times differ from what I see on weather apps?
Small differences of a minute or two are normal and arise from different calculation methods, rounding, and how each source defines the exact moment of sunrise or sunset. Most weather apps use data for a city center, while this tool calculates for your exact coordinates. If you’re several kilometers from the city center used by your weather app, you might see slight differences. Atmospheric refraction, which bends sunlight around the horizon, is accounted for in the standard algorithms but can vary with weather conditions, which is another source of minor discrepancy.