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🌅 Sunrise & Sunset Calculator

Estimate sunrise and sunset times for any date and location using latitude, longitude, and your UTC time zone offset.

📂 Weather
🛡️ Reviewed by: Ihsabha Editorial Team · Method: Standard meteorological and astronomical formulas (NOAA/National Weather Service Heat Index and Wind Chill equations, Magnus-Tetens dew point approximation, U.S. Naval Observatory solar position algorithm, synodic lunar month) — no external libraries, everything calculated locally in your browser · Last updated: August 2, 2026
Based on the standard solar position (sunrise equation) algorithm. Local daylight-saving adjustments aren't applied automatically — enter your effective UTC offset for that date.

How to use this tool

Fill in the fields on the left, then press the button to see your result instantly. Everything runs locally in your browser — no sign-up required, and no data is ever sent anywhere.

About this tool

Sunrise and sunset times depend mainly on three factors working together: your location's latitude and longitude, the specific date in question, and how the sun's apparent position in the sky changes across the year because of Earth's axial tilt and its orbit around the sun. This calculator uses the standard solar position algorithm, often called the "sunrise equation," published in the U.S. Naval Observatory almanac, which works out the sun's declination and hour angle for a given day of the year and geographic location, then solves for the exact moment the sun crosses the horizon at a reference zenith angle of 90.833 degrees rather than a clean 90, accounting for both the sun's visible apparent radius and atmospheric refraction that bends light near the horizon. The result produced in UTC is then converted into your local time using the time zone offset you provide for that date, giving you a practical, ready-to-use local sunrise and sunset time without needing to look up any tables yourself.

Sunrise & Sunset Calculator: A Complete Guide

Sunrise and sunset times shift noticeably through the year, and by a surprising amount depending on where you are on the planet — a fact that becomes obvious the moment you compare a summer evening near the poles to one near the equator. This calculator works out both times for any date and location using the same underlying solar geometry that almanacs and weather services rely on.

At its core, the calculation depends on the sun's declination — essentially, how far north or south of the equator the sun appears to be directly overhead on a given date — combined with your latitude. Near the equinoxes in March and September, the sun's declination is close to zero and day length is close to 12 hours almost everywhere on Earth. Near the solstices in June and December, the declination reaches its extremes, which is why summer days grow dramatically longer at high latitudes while winter days shrink just as dramatically in the opposite hemisphere.

The algorithm also accounts for something easy to overlook: the sun doesn't need to be exactly at the geometric horizon to count as "risen" or "set" in everyday terms. Atmospheric refraction bends sunlight slightly as it passes through the atmosphere near the horizon, and the sun itself has a visible disk rather than being a single point of light. Together, these effects mean the commonly used reference angle for sunrise and sunset (90.833° from the zenith, rather than a clean 90°) is slightly past the sun's true geometric position — which is why the sun is visibly still above a perfectly flat horizon for a short while after "official" sunset.

One thing this calculator deliberately leaves in your hands is daylight saving time. Because DST rules and dates vary by country and even change over time, the tool asks for your effective UTC offset on the specific date you're checking, rather than guessing based on your location. If a date falls during daylight saving time in your region, use the DST-adjusted offset (for example, UTC+3 instead of the standard UTC+2) to get a time that matches your clock rather than standard time.

Frequently asked questions

Why do I need to enter a UTC offset instead of picking a city?

Time zone rules, including daylight saving changes, vary by country and by date, so entering your effective UTC offset for that specific date keeps the result accurate without needing a location database.

Why might the result show 'no sunrise/sunset'?

At very high latitudes near the Arctic or Antarctic Circle, there are periods around the summer and winter solstices when the sun doesn't set or doesn't rise at all — this is normal polar day/night behavior.

How accurate is this compared to official almanac sources?

This uses the same standard solar position algorithm behind many almanac calculations and is typically accurate to within a minute or two, though official sources may apply slightly more refined atmospheric corrections.

Does this account for elevation or nearby mountains blocking the view?

No — this calculates the geometric/atmospheric sunrise and sunset time based on latitude and longitude only, not local horizon obstructions like mountains or tall buildings.