This guide explains what each number on the site means and how to use it to pick a time and a place. It does not replace looking at the sky: it is a forecast, not a promise.
The time and the score are different things
Sunset and sunrise times come from astronomy: they are calculated for the city’s exact position and the date, and the weather does not change them. They assume a flat horizon; hills or tall buildings can hide the sun a few minutes earlier.
The score, from 0 to 100, is something else: it estimates how colorful the sky will be, from the clouds, humidity, visibility and wind forecast for that moment. A high score does not change the time, and an exact time does not promise color.
Forecast or seasonal estimate
When a weather forecast is available for the city, the score uses it, and the page says when it was fetched. A forecast more than 2 hours old is marked as possibly out of date.
When no forecast is available, the score comes from the city's usual weather for that time of year and is labeled Estimate. It tells you what is typical, not what today will be. The data sources are listed under data sources.
Sunset and sunrise
Every city with a page has both, and sunrise today works like sunset today, for any place. Each score is calculated for its own hour, so a clear morning and a cloudy evening can score very differently on the same day. Face west for the sunset and east for the sunrise; the sun's exact direction is on the city page.
Golden hour and blue hour
Golden hour is when the sun is low, between 6 degrees above the horizon and 4 degrees below: the light turns warm and shadows grow long. Blue hour follows the sunset (and comes before the sunrise), with the sun between 4 and 6 degrees below the horizon, when the sky turns deep blue. Each city page shows today's times for both.
Planning a photo
- Arrive early: the best color often shows in the minutes before and after the sun time, not at the exact moment.
- Check the sun's direction on the city page and pick a spot with a clear horizon that way.
- A middling score with high clouds can bring more color than a perfectly clear sky.
- Stay a little after sunset: blue hour and the afterglow on the clouds may still come.
The sun and shade map
The sun and shade map shows where the sun comes from at any time of day and where buildings cast shade. Use it to find a street, a square or a rooftop with the sun in view at sunset.
Alerts and quiet hours
With an account you can ask for an alert when a city's score passes a value you choose, by email, Telegram or browser notification. During your quiet hours nothing is sent: the alert arrives when they end, if the sun has not set yet. A free account has 1 active alert.
Time zones
A city's times are always shown in that city's time zone, not your device's: London's sunset appears in London time even if you are in New York. The 12 or 24 hour format follows your preference in the site's settings.
The gallery and your photos
In the gallery you can share photos you took yourself. Before upload, your browser removes the photo's location data. Every photo is reviewed before it appears, under the name you choose, and you can delete it at any time. By uploading you let us show it on the site, as the terms explain.
Saved places and the free account
A free account keeps up to 3 places and 1 alert. In its first week it shows the score for the next 2 days; after that, today's, as for visitors without an account. No card is asked for. Plus and Pro are described on the pricing page.