Golden hour

A little more time outside

Find your next golden hour.

Choose a city or use your location, then select a date below for golden hour, blue hour, sunrise, and sunset. The globe above explores the coming 24 hours.

What is golden hour?

Golden hour is the low, warm light around sunrise and sunset. Next Light calculates the window when the Sun is between 4° below and 6° above the horizon. Blue hour uses 6° to 4° below the horizon. The length changes with the place and season; it is not always an hour.

Times for your place

Calculations use your selected coordinates and show the place’s local time zone. The city collection is a starting point; location access is optional. Clouds, terrain, and your horizon affect the light you actually see. Sunrise and sunset use a solar-center elevation of −0.833°, an approximation for refraction and the Sun’s apparent size. At high latitudes, some windows may not occur or may continue through midnight.

Get golden-hour reminders on iPhone ↗

About the NOAA solar calculations · How Next Light works

Plan your outing: Golden hour photography: plan the light before the shot · Blue hour photography: timing, settings, and a simple plan