How accurate are the sunrise and sunset times?
Our calculations are based on established astronomical algorithms and are accurate to within one minute. We account for atmospheric refraction, which makes the sun appear slightly above the horizon even when geometrically below it.
What time zone are the times returned in?
All times are returned in UTC (ISO 8601 format). You can easily convert to local time using the timezone offset for your location, or use our World Time API to get the local timezone.
Can I get sunrise/sunset for a specific date?
Yes! Pass the optional date parameter in MM-DD-YYYY format to get times for any date. If not specified, we return today's times.
What is the difference between dawn and sunrise?
Sunrise is when the sun's upper edge appears above the horizon. Dawn (civil twilight) begins earlier, when there's enough light to see without artificial lighting. We also provide nautical dawn (horizon visible at sea) and astronomical dawn (sky completely dark before).
What is golden hour?
Golden hour is the period shortly after sunrise or before sunset when the sun is low, producing warm, soft lighting ideal for photography. We return both the morning golden hour end time and evening golden hour start time.
Do you account for daylight saving time?
Times are returned in UTC, which doesn't observe daylight saving. This ensures consistency and lets you handle DST conversion in your application based on the user's local rules.
What happens in polar regions with midnight sun or polar night?
In polar regions during summer or winter, the sun may not rise or set. In these cases, we return null for sunrise/sunset and indicate whether it's polar day (continuous daylight) or polar night (continuous darkness).
Can I use this for smart home automation?
Absolutely! Many users integrate our API with smart home systems to trigger lights, blinds, or thermostats based on actual sunrise/sunset rather than fixed schedules. This adapts automatically as day length changes throughout the year.
