What time is golden hour today, and how long does it last?

Golden hour has no fixed time: it follows the Sun, so it moves every day and from city to city. What time is it today where you are? Type your city in the golden hour calculator, enter today’s date in Date and press “That day’s hours”. The answer opens with the morning window, then the evening one, in local time.

The length matters as much as the start. On 30 September 2026, the calculator gives Reykjavik an evening golden hour of 64 minutes, from 17:56 to 19:00. Nairobi gets 27 minutes, from 17:59 to 18:26. Turn up in Nairobi at 18:15 and more than half of it is gone.

What do I type to get today’s golden hour?

City and Date are enough. Type the city and pick it from the suggestions: that choice brings its coordinates and its time zone, so every time in the answer is the city’s local time. Put today’s date in Date, under “Or one precise day”, then press “That day’s hours”.

The other two fields do not change the golden hour. Object height (m), 1.8 by default, sizes a shadow; An hour of the day places the Sun at that hour.

The “This month” button lists every day of the current month instead, and its answer offers the next month.

Which lines of the answer are the golden hour?

The two windows at the top of the answer. The large figure is the morning window, from sunrise until the Sun is six degrees up. The sentence beneath it gives the evening one, from six degrees back down to sunset.

For Reykjavik on 30 September 2026 they read “07:34–08:38” and “And again from 17:56 to 19:00”.

The table “That day’s hours” repeats them under four names: Sunrise and Golden hour end (morning), then Golden hour start (evening) and Sunset.

Blue hour sits in the same table, from Civil dawn to Sunrise and from Sunset to Civil dusk: 19:00 to 19:47 in Reykjavik that evening.

How long does golden hour last?

It depends on the city and the date, and you get it by subtracting the two times of a window. These are the calculator’s answers for two cities on the same day, and for Reykjavik at midsummer.

Near the equator the Sun climbs almost straight up and passes six degrees quickly, while far north or south it rises on a long slant. The season changes that slant too, which is why Reykjavik’s evening window nearly doubles between September and June.

Can I trust the times the calculator gives?

You can trust them for the Sun, not for your horizon or the weather. The times are computed for the chosen city’s coordinates and given to the minute, in its local time. The calculator assumes a flat horizon, so a hill or a tower to the west ends your evening before the Sunset time.

If another site gives different times, compare definitions before minutes. Wikipedia’s article notes that golden hour has no clearly defined duration. This calculator states its own in the answer: “the two windows when the Sun sits between the horizon and six degrees above it”.

Questions

When is golden hour tomorrow?

Put tomorrow’s date in Date and press “That day’s hours”; the field takes any date. Today’s times will not do: the month table for Reykjavik shows its evening window opening three to four minutes earlier each day of September 2026.

Is golden hour the same as magic hour?

The names overlap: Wikipedia notes that golden hour is sometimes called the magic hour. The calculator’s share card is titled “Magic hours” and covers golden hour and blue hour together.

Does the calculator find my location by itself?

No. You type a city and pick it from the list, and the answer is computed for that city. The page states that the city you search for is used to answer and then forgotten.

Can I put golden hour in my calendar?

Yes. Under the answer, “Add to my calendar” downloads a .ics file with four events a day: Blue hour (dawn), Golden hour (morning), Golden hour (evening) and Blue hour (dusk). “Subscribe (updates itself)” gives your calendar an address it re-reads every day.

Sources and further reading

• Golden hour (photography) — the low-sun light, why it has no clearly defined duration, and its other name, magic hour.
• Twilight — civil twilight, the Sun between the horizon and six degrees below it, which bounds the blue hour.
• NOAA Solar Calculator — an independent public calculator to cross-check sunrise and sunset for any place and date.