Watching the light change

The Nature page shows today's sunrise and sunset for a place you choose. The times are worked out in your browser from the date and the place, and nothing is sent anywhere.

Twilight

The sky does not switch on and off at those times. Civil twilight is the period when the sun is just below the horizon, up to six degrees, and there is usually still enough natural light to see outdoors. It lasts longer the farther north you are, and longer in summer.

That stretch on either side of sunrise and sunset is when the colours in the sky change fastest.

Five minutes at a window

You do not need a view of the horizon. Stand at a window or a doorstep near sunset. Notice the brightest part of the sky, then the darkest. Watch the colour of one wall or one tree as it shifts.

What to notice

Notice how shadows lengthen and soften. Notice when the first lights come on in nearby windows. Listen for how the sounds outside change as the light goes.

Through the year

Sunset moves earlier through the fall and later through the spring. The season card on the Nature page offers a few things to notice each month, and the sun times move along with it.