US Golden Hour Calculator: Blue Hour and Sun Path

Golden hour and sun elevation: calculation, example and limits

The tool computes the sun's path for 10 US cities with NOAA's equations and shows times in the city's clock time, daylight saving time included. Golden hour is when the sun is between −4° and +6° of elevation, morning and evening.

The calculation

• Sun position (NOAA equations): declination δ and equation of time, computed at noon for the day of the year.
• Solar noon in clock time = 12:00 − (4 min × longitude + equation of time) + the city's UTC offset on that date, daylight saving time included.
• Elevation: sin h = sin φ sin δ + cos φ cos δ cos H, with H = (hour − solar noon) × 15° and φ the latitude; the chart plots it every 30 minutes.
• Sunrise and sunset: the moments the centre of the sun crosses −0.833° (atmospheric refraction and the disc's half-diameter).
• Golden hour: sun between −4° and +6°, morning and evening; evening blue hour: from −4° to −6°. These bounds are a photographers' convention rather than a standard; the same band is shaded on the chart.
• Shadow: subject height ÷ tan 6°, i.e. 9.5 times its height.

Worked example

Los Angeles, June 21, 2026 (day 172, Pacific Daylight Time, UTC−7): solar noon at 12:54, sunrise at 05:42, sunset at 20:07, peak elevation 79.4°. Morning golden hour from 05:24 to 06:18, evening from 19:30 to 20:25, blue hour from 20:25 to 20:36. A 6 ft subject casts a 57.1 ft shadow. NOAA's full spreadsheet equations, recomputed for the same date, give sunrise at 05:42, sunset at 20:08 and the drop from +6° to −4° between 19:31 and 20:25.

Limits

• Declination and the equation of time are computed once a day, at noon: times can differ from NOAA's by one or two minutes (Los Angeles, January 15, 2026: sunset shown at 17:05 versus 17:07).
• Times apply to the chosen city-centre coordinates, at horizon level.
• Terrain, buildings and clouds change the actual light.

Sources and dates: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Solar Calculator and its equations, used to check the example (checked 10/14/2026).

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does golden hour last?

The tool uses the photographers' convention: sun between −4° and +6°. Its length varies with latitude and season: on the evening of June 21 in Los Angeles it runs from 19:30 to 20:25 (daylight saving time), i.e. 55 minutes; on the evening of January 15, from 16:28 to 17:22, i.e. 54 minutes.

Why do sunrise and sunset times differ from my phone?

They should only differ by a minute or two: the tool shows the city's clock time, daylight saving time included, and accounts for longitude, the equation of time and refraction. In Los Angeles on June 21 it shows sunset at 20:07, versus 20:08 according to NOAA. A larger gap comes from terrain or a place far from the chosen city centre.

How long is a shadow during golden hour?

At 6° of elevation, a shadow is 1 ÷ tan 6° ≈ 9.5 times the subject's height. A 6 ft person therefore casts a shadow of about 57 ft.

What is blue hour?

It is the period when the sun is just below the horizon, between −4° and −6° in the tool's convention, and the sky turns blue. In Los Angeles on the evening of June 21, the tool places it from 20:25 to 20:36.

Is this tool really free?

Yes, all tools on Kristools are 100% free and accessible without registration.

Is my data protected?

Yes. All processing is performed directly and securely inside your browser. No personal data is sent to our servers.