Sun & Moon Calculator
Sunrise, sunset, twilight, golden hour and the moon phase for any place and date
Location
Times are shown in Asia/Tokyo, adjusted for daylight saving time where it applies.
Sun
| Type | Dawn | Dusk |
|---|---|---|
| Civil twilight | 03:55 AM | 07:30 PM |
| Nautical twilight | 03:18 AM | 08:07 PM |
| Astronomical twilight | 02:36 AM | 08:49 PM |
Right now the sun is -0.5° above the horizon at azimuth 300°.
Moon
About this tool
This calculator gives you the complete daily rhythm of the sun and moon for any place on Earth. Pick a city or enter latitude and longitude, choose a date, and it computes sunrise, sunset, solar noon and day length, plus the three kinds of twilight, golden hour and blue hour — the magic windows photographers love. It also shows the moon: its current phase and name, the illuminated fraction, the moon's age in days, moonrise and moonset, and when the next new and full moon fall. A daylight arc visualizes the whole day at a glance — night, twilight and daylight color-coded — and a moon graphic draws the exact crescent or gibbous shape. All calculations run in your browser using the NOAA Solar Calculator algorithm and a standard synodic moon model; nothing is sent to a server.
How to use
- 1 Choose a city from the list, or switch to manual mode and enter latitude and longitude (or tap “Use my location”).
- 2 Pick the date you want — it defaults to today.
- 3 Read the sun panel for sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, twilight and golden hour, shown in the location's time zone.
- 4 Check the moon panel for the current phase, illumination, age, moonrise/moonset and the next new and full moon.
How it works
Sun times come from the NOAA Solar Calculator algorithm. For your date and longitude the tool finds solar noon, then computes the sun's declination and the hour angle at which its center reaches each target altitude: −0.833° for sunrise and sunset (allowing for the sun's radius and atmospheric refraction), −6° for civil twilight, −12° for nautical and −18° for astronomical twilight, and +6° for golden hour. When the sun never reaches a given altitude — far north in summer or winter — the event simply does not occur, and the tool reports midnight sun or polar night instead of inventing a time. The moon phase uses the mean synodic month of 29.53 days measured from a known new moon; the illuminated fraction follows the standard (1 − cos φ)/2 relation, and moonrise/moonset are found by tracking the moon's altitude across the day and locating where it crosses the horizon. Everything is computed in UTC and then formatted in the chosen time zone with Intl, so daylight saving time is handled automatically.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between civil, nautical and astronomical twilight?
Twilight is graded by how far the sun is below the horizon. Civil twilight (sun 0° to −6°) is bright enough to do most outdoor activities without artificial light and the brightest stars appear. Nautical twilight (−6° to −12°) is dark enough that the horizon at sea is still faintly visible for navigation by star sightings. Astronomical twilight (−12° to −18°) is when the sky is nearly fully dark; beyond −18° it is true night and the faintest objects become visible.
What is the golden hour and the blue hour?
The golden hour is the period soon after sunrise or before sunset when the sun is low (roughly 0° to 6° above the horizon) and light is warm, soft and gold — ideal for photography. The blue hour is the period just before sunrise or after sunset when the sun is a few degrees below the horizon and the sky takes on a deep, even blue. Both depend on latitude and season, which is why this tool computes them for your exact place and date.
Why does it sometimes say there is no sunrise or sunset?
At high latitudes the sun can stay above the horizon for 24 hours around the summer solstice (the midnight sun) or below it for 24 hours around the winter solstice (the polar night). On those days there is genuinely no sunrise or sunset, so the tool reports midnight sun or polar night rather than printing a misleading time. The closer you are to the poles and the solstices, the longer these periods last.
How is the moon phase determined?
The moon cycles through its phases over one synodic month — about 29.53 days from one new moon to the next. We measure the time since a known new moon, wrap it into that cycle, and convert it into the illuminated fraction with the relation (1 − cos φ)/2, where φ is the phase angle. That gives the percentage lit and the named phase: new, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, last quarter and waning crescent.
Which time zone and daylight saving rules are used?
When you pick a city, all times are shown in that city's IANA time zone, including its current daylight saving offset. When you enter coordinates manually, times use your browser's time zone (noted under the inputs). Internally everything is computed in UTC for accuracy and then formatted with the Intl date API, so summer/winter time changes are applied correctly without you doing anything.
Related tools and uses
Planning, photography and travel all revolve around the sun and moon. Pair this with the world clock to compare times across cities, the time zone converter to schedule across regions, and the Unix timestamp converter for precise date math. Whether you are chasing golden-hour light, planning stargazing around the new moon, or working out how long the day will be on a trip, these tools fit together.