About golden hour and blue hour
Golden hour is the period shortly after sunrise and before sunset when the sun sits low on the horizon, giving warm, soft light. Blue hour is the brief window just after sunset (or just before sunrise) when the sky takes on a deep blue tone. This calculator uses your date and location to compute the exact time ranges where the sun's altitude falls in each of these bands — in order: morning blue hour, morning golden hour, evening golden hour, evening blue hour. Your location is only used for this calculation in your browser; it's never sent to a server.
How the calculation works
The calculator works out the sun's altitude from your date and latitude/longitude and finds the time ranges where it falls in set bands. Sunrise and sunset are when the top of the sun touches the horizon (altitude about -0.83°). Golden hour runs from that moment up to about +6° altitude, and blue hour covers about -6° up to sunrise (or from just after sunset down to -6°).
Results are listed as morning blue hour, morning golden hour, evening golden hour and evening blue hour. Your location is used only in your browser and is never sent to a server.
Worked examples
- In Incheon, Korea (latitude 37.4563, longitude 126.7052) on October 2, 2026, morning blue hour is about 06:03 to 06:29 and morning golden hour about 06:29 to 07:03. Evening golden hour is about 17:40 to 18:15 and evening blue hour about 18:15 to 18:41.
- In the same place, the evening golden hour on the summer solstice (June 21) runs about 19:18 to 19:57 (about 39 minutes), and on the winter solstice (December 21) about 16:37 to 17:18 (about 41 minutes). The clock times shift a lot with the season, but the length stays similar.
- Near the equator in Singapore (October 2, 2026), golden hour is about 27 minutes and blue hour about 21 minutes, shorter than in Incheon, because the sun sets closer to vertically.
- In Tromsø, in the Arctic (latitude 69.65°), the sun never sets on June 21 and never rises on December 21, so there is no golden or blue hour, and the calculator shows a note saying so.
When to use it
Once you know where and when you will shoot, it helps you set an exact arrival and setup time before sunrise. It also helps you compare which day and time of a trip is best for shooting.
Limits and common mistakes
- Times are shown in this device's current time zone. If you enter coordinates for another region, the times may not be that place's local time, so account for the time difference.
- The calculation reflects only the sun's geometric position. Clouds, haze, atmospheric conditions and terrain such as mountains or buildings can change when the light actually appears.
- Golden and blue hour do not have sharp edges; the light changes gradually. Arrive and set up a few minutes before the start time to be safe.
- At high latitudes, midsummer midnight sun and midwinter polar night may mean the bands do not occur.
- Latitude is positive in the north and negative in the south, and longitude is positive in the east and negative in the west. A wrong sign puts you in a completely different place.
Guides that pair well with this calculator
These times are based purely on the sun's geometric position — the actual color and softness of the light you experience still depends on weather, atmospheric conditions, and local terrain. As noted above, displayed times follow this device's own time zone, so keep that in mind when checking a different region ahead of a trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Exactly when are golden hour and blue hour?+
Golden hour runs while the sun's altitude is between about -0.83° and +6° above the horizon; blue hour runs between about -6° and -0.83°. Both the length and timing of each window vary by date and location.
Why do the times look wrong when I enter coordinates for another region?+
This calculator is a lightweight design that doesn't use a time-zone database — it displays the computed times in this device's (browser's) own current time zone. That's accurate for your immediate surroundings when you use "Use my location," but if you manually enter coordinates for a completely different time zone, the times shown reflect this device's time zone rather than the local time at that location.
Is my location sent to a server?+
No. Your latitude and longitude are only used for the calculation in your browser — they're never sent or stored anywhere. The "Use my location" button simply uses your browser's standard location permission prompt.
Do I have to grant location permission to use this?+
No — you can enter latitude and longitude manually and use the calculator without granting location permission at all.