TimeAndSpace.Science

Twilight

What is twilight?

Twilight is the time when the Sun is below the horizon but still lighting the sky. This map draws it as a soft band: from the terminator down to where the Sun is 18° below — the edge of astronomical night.

EquatorTropic of CancerTropic of CapricornArctic Circle
The map shades night (Sun below the horizon) and a second, paler band out to Sun altitude −18°. The ring between them is twilight. It is widest toward the poles.

Three common edges

Civil twilight: Sun 0° to 6° down — streetlights, a clear horizon. Nautical: 6° to 12° — the brighter stars, a usable sea horizon. Astronomical: 12° to 18° — the sky is not yet fully dark for faint objects. Past 18° down, night.

This map uses the far edge, −18°, so the band you see is the whole of twilight, not just the civil slice.

Get more on this

Why summer nights stay pale

At mid-latitudes the Sun dives steeply. Twilight is short. Near the polar circles the Sun skims the horizon, so it takes hours to fall 18°. In June, much of the north never reaches astronomical night at all. That is a geometry fact, not a weather one.

See it live

On the hub: Day and night map

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