What time is golden hour today?
Golden hour happens twice a day. In the evening it starts when the sun sinks to 6° above the horizon and ends at sunset; in the morning it runs from sunrise until the sun climbs back to 6°. At mid-latitudes each one lasts roughly 30 to 45 minutes. The times below are for your location.
Calculating for your location…
Next 7 days ·
How golden hour is defined
Photographers use the name loosely. The most common working definition, and the one used here, is the sun between 6° above the horizon and the moment of sunset or sunrise. With the sun that low, its light passes through far more air than at midday. The air scatters away much of the blue, so what reaches you is warmer, softer and lower in contrast, and it arrives from the side, which gives faces and landscapes shape and long shadows.
How long golden hour lasts
The closer you are to the equator, the more steeply the sun drops and the shorter golden hour is. At mid-latitudes it is shortest around the March and September equinoxes and longest near the solstices. Far north in winter the sun barely clears 6° at noon, so most of the short day is golden light.
| Latitude | Mar 20 | Jun 21 | Dec 21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equator | 27 min | 30 min | 30 min |
| 20° N | 29 min | 32 min | 32 min |
| 30° N | 32 min | 35 min | 36 min |
| 40° N | 36 min | 41 min | 43 min |
| 50° N | 43 min | 52 min | 58 min |
| 60° N | 55 min | 80 min | 129 min |
Morning or evening?
The geometry is the same, but the experience is not. Mornings are often calmer, with less wind and fewer people around, and dew or mist in low ground can add depth. Evenings are warmer in colour and easier to fit around a working day, and the blue hour that follows gives you a second chance if the golden light is blocked by cloud.
Why the light can end before the time shown
The times are calculated for a flat horizon. Hills, buildings or a mountain range to the west hide the sun earlier, so on the ground the golden light can end several minutes before sunset. A bank of cloud on the horizon does the same, while thin, high cloud often catches the best colour just after the sun has gone.