Sunrise & sunset in London, United Kingdom

Search any location and the calculator shows today’s sunrise and sunset in that place’s local time, along with the day length. Pick a different date to see how the times shift through the year — they change fastest around the equinoxes and barely move near the solstices.

Only at the spring and autumn equinoxes does the sun rise due east and set due west. In northern-hemisphere summer it rises in the north-east and sets in the north-west; in winter it rises in the south-east and sets in the south-west (reversed south of the equator). This tool shows the exact compass bearing for both, so you know which windows catch first and last light.

Earth’s axis is tilted about 23.5°, so as we orbit the sun its rising and setting points swing north and south across the horizon over the year. The effect is small near the equator and dramatic at high latitudes, where midsummer sunrises can be almost due north-east.

Day length is the gap between sunrise and sunset, and it grows or shrinks as the sun’s path across the sky gets higher or lower with the seasons. Around the solstices the change slows to almost nothing; around the equinoxes it can swing by several minutes a day. The calculator shows the exact day length for any date.

No. First light begins earlier, at dawn, when twilight starts to brighten the sky; sunrise is the moment the sun’s upper edge actually clears the horizon. Likewise, dusk continues after sunset until the sky goes dark. For the full set of twilight phases, see the Sun Times calculator.

Yes. Choose any location and any date to plan around first and last light — handy for travel, hikes, events or checking which way a new home faces. The SunCast app goes further with a live AR view and works offline once you arrive.