About this tool
Sunrise & Sunset Calculator is a free, in-browser tool that estimates the sunrise time, sunset time, solar noon and the length of the day for any place and date. Enter a latitude, longitude (east positive), the date and your UTC offset in hours; the UTC offset is pre-filled from your browser. All math runs locally with nothing uploaded.
It uses NOAA's low-precision solar position algorithm: from the day of the year it computes the fractional year angle, the equation of time and the solar declination, then solves the hour angle for a 90.833° zenith (which builds in the standard allowance for the sun's radius). Sunrise, sunset and solar noon come out in UTC minutes and are shifted by your UTC offset to local clock time; day length equals eight times the hour angle in degrees.
Use it to find the golden hour, plan photography, hikes or events anywhere on Earth. In the polar regions it detects when the sun never rises (polar night) or never sets (polar day) and tells you so instead of showing times.
Frequently asked questions
What algorithm is used?
The NOAA low-precision sunrise/sunset equations. They derive the equation of time and solar declination from the day of the year, then use a zenith of 90.833° — which accounts for the sun's apparent radius and a standard refraction allowance — to find the hour angle and the rise and set times.
Why are the times a few minutes off from my almanac?
This is an approximate model that ignores your elevation, local atmospheric refraction and terrain. Expect results within several minutes of official tables — close enough for planning, but not a substitute for an aviation or maritime almanac.
How do I enter longitude and the UTC offset?
Longitude is positive to the east and negative to the west (New York is about −74). The UTC offset is your local hours from UTC, pre-filled from your browser — for example −5 for US Eastern Standard Time or +1 for Central European Time. Adjust it if you want times for another zone.
What happens near the poles?
At high latitudes the sun can stay below the horizon all day (polar night) or above it all day (polar day). When that occurs the tool shows a short message instead of rise and set times, because none exist for that date.
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