Sunrise and sunset calculator

How are sunrise and sunset calculated?

With the method of NOAA’s solar calculator, based on Jean Meeus’s Astronomical Algorithms: the sun’s position for the date gives the time its upper edge crosses the horizon, allowing for the bending of light by the air. NOAA puts the accuracy at about a minute between 72° north and south.

When is sunrise in Washington, DC on the longest day?

On June 21, 2026, the sun rises at 5:43 AM and sets at 8:37 PM EDT — 14 hours 54 minutes of daylight.

What is solar noon?

The moment the sun is highest in the sky. It is rarely at 12:00 on the clock, because of time zones, daylight saving time and the tilt and orbit of the Earth.

Why does it say midnight sun or polar night?

Far north or south, the sun can stay above the horizon all day in summer or below it all day in winter — in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, it does not set around the June solstice.

Does daylight saving time matter?

Yes — times are shown in local clock time for the date, including daylight saving time where it applies.

Why is the day length different in Seattle and Miami?

The farther from the equator, the larger the seasonal swing. On June 21, 2026, Seattle has 15 h 59 min of daylight and Miami 13 h 45 min; on December 21 Seattle has 8 h 26 min and Miami 10 h 32 min. Near the equator the length of the day hardly changes through the year.

Is the shortest day also the day of the latest sunrise?

Not exactly. The December solstice has the least daylight, but because of the equation of time (the difference between solar time and clock time), the earliest sunset at mid-northern latitudes comes in the weeks before the solstice and the latest sunrise in the weeks after it. Try dates in early December and early January in the table to see it.

What the result depends on

Three things fix the times: the date, the latitude, and the longitude within the time zone. The date sets the sun's declination, the angle that decides how high the sun climbs and how long it stays above the horizon. Latitude controls how strongly that angle changes the length of the day. Longitude decides where solar noon falls relative to the clock, because a time zone is about fifteen degrees wide but applies to everyone in it. The calculator then applies the time zone and daylight saving offset for that date from the browser's time zone database. Sunrise and sunset are defined as the moment the upper edge of the sun's disk meets an idealized horizon, with atmospheric refraction taken into account.

Worked example: Washington, DC on the June solstice

On June 21, 2026, at 38.8895° N and 77.0353° W, with daylight saving time (UTC−4), the sun rises at 5:43 AM and sets at 8:37 PM. Solar noon is at 1:10 PM, not at 12:00, and the day is 14 h 54 min long. In summer, daylight saving time alone moves solar noon an hour past 12:00; the position within the time zone and the equation of time move it further.

What it does not include

The calculation assumes a flat, sea-level horizon. Mountains, hills, tall buildings or a high vantage point shift when the sun is actually visible: a mountain to the east delays sunrise, while standing on a summit lets you see the sun earlier. Unusual weather and temperature inversions bend light differently from the standard refraction used in the formula. The result is therefore the astronomical time. Civil twilight, the period when there is enough light to see outdoors, begins before sunrise and ends after sunset, and is not shown here. NOAA states the method is accurate to about a minute between 72° north and south, and less so beyond.

Common mistakes

Entering a longitude with the wrong sign is the main one: west longitudes in the Americas are negative, and swapping the sign moves the answer by many hours. Another is choosing the wrong time zone for custom coordinates, which shifts the clock times but not the day length. A third is reading "midnight sun" as an error; it is the correct result at high latitudes around the summer solstice. Finally, check the date: near a daylight saving change, the clock times jump by an hour while the sun does not.

Sources: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Solar Calculation Details (the algorithm based on Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms); the standard sunrise definition with a zenith angle of 90.833° that includes refraction and the sun's apparent radius, as published by NOAA. Related: moon phase calculator, time zone converter and time calculator.