Twilight
Twilight means either dawn (in the morning) or dusk (in the evening).
In the morning, dawn is when it is not dark any more, and the light of the sun is just starting to appear, before sunrise. In the evening, it is the other way around and that phenomenon is called dusk. At sunset, the sun disappears, and darkness is settling in. Light fades away.
The following have been defined:
- Civil twilight is when the sun is less than 6° below the horizon. It ends at sunrise in the morning or follows sunset in the evening.
- Nautical twilight is when the sun is between 6° and 12° below the horizon.
- Astronomical twilight is when the sun is between 12° and 18° below the horizon.
For all these definitions, the horizon is at sea level.
Twilight Media
Midtown Manhattan during civil twilight, demonstrating blue hour
Civil twilight in a small town in the Mojave Desert
Astronomical twilight (dusk) with a crescent moon, as seen from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Timelapse video of twilight and sunrise in Gjøvik in February 2021
Other websites
- Definition of Twilight Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine, US Naval Observatory
- Twilight time calculator Archived 2006-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
- Formulae to calculate twilight duration Archived 2008-09-15 at the Wayback Machine, by Herbert Glarner