Golden Hour Calculator
Find golden hour and blue hour times for any place and date, with start and end bearings, window lengths and solar noon from the NOAA solar model.
Light windows
| LightWindow | Starts | Ends | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morning blue hour | 07:26 (119° ESE) | 07:41 (122° ESE) | 0h 15m |
| Morning golden hour | 08:05 (127° SE) | 09:05 (139° SE) | 1h 00m |
| Evening golden hour | 15:07 (221° SW) | 16:07 (233° SW) | 1h 00m |
| Evening blue hour | 16:31 (238° WSW) | 16:46 (241° WSW) | 0h 15m |
Golden hour is the sun between +6° and −0.833° of altitude; blue hour is −4° to −6°. Bearings are degrees clockwise from true north, so 90° is due east. Solar declination today is -22.58° and the equation of time is -5.4 minutes.
These are NOAA low-precision solar figures for a flat, sea-level horizon: good to roughly a minute below 72° latitude, and progressively less reliable nearer the poles where the sun crosses each altitude very slowly. Hills, buildings, altitude and haze all move the light you actually get, so treat the window as a planning guide and arrive early.
What is the Golden Hour Calculator?
Golden hour is the stretch when the sun sits between about six degrees above the horizon and just below it, giving the low, warm, directional light photographers plan whole shoots around.
- Morning and evening golden hour, plus both blue hour windows, with lengths
- Sun bearing in degrees and compass points at the start and end of each window
- Solar noon, maximum elevation, declination and equation of time
- Thirty-two preset cities, or any coordinates you type in
- Detects midnight sun and polar night instead of showing a broken time
- Times shown in whichever IANA time zone you choose, with the offset stated
How to use the Golden Hour Calculator
- 1
Choose a city from the list, or type your own latitude and longitude in decimal degrees.
- 2
Set the date, or press Use today.
- 3
Pick the time zone you want the times shown in — the field hints at the UTC offset in force that day.
- 4
Read the four windows: morning and evening golden hour, and morning and evening blue hour, each with its bearings and length.
- 5
Copy the whole set of times as text for your shot list.
About the Golden Hour Calculator
Golden hour is the stretch when the sun sits between about six degrees above the horizon and just below it, giving the low, warm, directional light photographers plan whole shoots around. Blue hour is the cooler window a little further down, from four to six degrees below the horizon. This tool computes all four windows for any latitude, longitude and date.
Alongside the times you get the sun's bearing at the start and end of each window, so you know which way to face and where the light will fall. Solar noon, the sun's highest elevation, its declination and the equation of time are all shown too, and the whole set of times can be copied in one click.
It runs the NOAA solar position algorithm entirely in your browser — no location lookup, no API call, nothing uploaded. Pick a city from the list or type your own coordinates, and choose which time zone to display the results in.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is golden hour?
It is the period when the sun's centre is between roughly plus six degrees and minus 0.833 degrees of altitude. The light travels through more atmosphere at that angle, which scatters the blue out and leaves the warm, soft, low-contrast light photographers want.
How long does golden hour actually last?
It depends entirely on latitude and season. Near the equator the sun drops almost vertically and golden hour can be under 40 minutes; in northern Europe in midsummer it can stretch past an hour. The tool gives the exact length for your date and place.
What is the difference between golden hour and blue hour?
Golden hour brackets sunrise and sunset with the sun just above and just below the horizon. Blue hour comes further down, between four and six degrees below, when the sky is lit but the sun is gone — the cool even light used for cityscapes.
How accurate are these times?
They come from the NOAA low-precision solar equations for a flat sea-level horizon, good to about a minute below 72 degrees of latitude. Nearer the poles the sun crosses each altitude very slowly and the numbers get softer. Hills, buildings and haze move the real light regardless, so arrive early.
Does this tool need my location or an internet connection?
Neither. Choose a city or type coordinates yourself. All the astronomy runs as JavaScript in your browser, so the page works offline and your location is never sent anywhere.
Why does it say the golden hour does not occur?
Above the Arctic or Antarctic circles the sun can stay up all day or never rise at all, so there is no sunrise or sunset to bracket. The tool detects midnight sun and polar night and explains what is happening instead of printing a blank time.
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