Calculating the precise sunrise and sunset times for a particular location is critical for various outdoor activities, including photography, camping, and hiking. Luckily, there are several mobile applications available on both Android and iOS platforms that provide this information. These applications utilize location data and advanced algorithms to calculate the most accurate and up-to-date sunrise and sunset times for any given location. This article will explore the best apps for calculating sunrise and sunset times, their features, and their benefits.
We have compiled a list of 8 Best Apps For Calculating Sunrise And Sunset Times (Android & iOS) for your consideration, which have undergone rigorous testing and evaluation by our team of experts.
Table of Contents
8 Best Apps For Calculating Sunrise And Sunset Times (Android & iOS)
1. GoSunWatch
This product is designed for outdoor enthusiasts who want to stay informed about the timing and intensity of sunlight. Users can easily determine when and where the sun will set and how quickly it will get dark. The watch face visually displays information about sunset, sunrise, and various types of twilight, with an automatic transition to red light mode to protect night vision.
The product also includes useful features such as sun position, sun path, moon position, and moon phase. Users can determine true north by aligning to the sun, moon, or stars at any time of day.
Those who use the product on an iPhone can drag the hour hand to see positions and times for different days. On an Apple Watch, the time to sunset or sunrise is shown.
2. Sunrise Sunset Times
The “Live free in the Sun!” app offers users the ability to access precise sunrise, sunset, first light, and last light times at their exact location. The app also displays the amount of daylight remaining in the day, allowing users to plan accordingly.
In addition to basic information such as sunrise and sunset times, the app also offers features such as timezone conversion, countdowns to the next sunrise or sunset, and countdowns to the shortest and longest days. Premium users can access equinox and solstice times as well.
Users can also view sunrise, sunset, first light, and last light times for any day in the future and determine the length of daylight for a given day. The app also correctly handles Daylight Saving Time and does not require GPS access. Landscape support is available on iPad devices.
Overall, the app is designed for those who value time and want to make the most of their day or night. Feedback is welcome and can be submitted via the support site. The app’s terms of use can be found at https://petesmith.co.nz/termssunrisefree/.
3. Sunrise & Sunset
This app is designed to calculate the time of dawn, sunrise, sunset, and dusk based on location and time of year. It offers a unique feature in the form of a graph view that is particularly useful for educational purposes.
The app includes a calendar view that displays the hour and minute of each event on a day by day basis. Additionally, the graph view shows how each event changes over the course of the year. The app displays local times by default, using current location, timezone, and day. Users can select another day by sliding the view left or right. They can also select another location using sliders for latitude and longitude, and choose a timezone from a list.
Users can create favorite locations and easily switch between them, making it convenient to check sunrise/sunset times in advance. They can also select which definition to use for dawn/dusk, choosing from Civil, Nautical, or Astronomical (where the sun is 6°/12°/18° below the horizon). The app allows users to visualize how moving north or south affects sunrise and other events by using the latitude slider.
Finally, the app enables users to identify periods when the sun never rises or sets in a particular location during the year, and displays this information on the graph. This is the ad-supported free edition, and a pro edition is also available with additional features and no ads.
4. Sunrise Sunset Calculator
This app provides users with quick access to information regarding sunrise and sunset times. Users can upgrade to the full version to gain access to widgets and an ad-free experience. With home-screen and lock-screen widgets, users can view information without having to open the app.
There are three methods for finding location and timezone information. The first method involves using the device’s GPS to determine the user’s current location and timezone. The second method involves selecting a city from a provided list. This option is useful for individuals without GPS or internet access. The third method involves using a Google Map to manually specify a location. This method requires an internet connection and the manual specification of a timezone.
The app minimizes GPS usage by turning off the feature after finding a user’s location. The app then uses the “last known location” unless an updated location is requested. This saves battery life and puts GPS control in the user’s hands.
For individuals without access to GPS, the app provides a Google Map feature to manually select a location. Users can also create a customized list of their favorite locations based on GPS, Google Map, or the provided list of cities.
The app works without an internet connection for GPS and city selection. The app calculates data locally to provide accurate sunrise and sunset times. However, an internet connection is necessary for using the Google Map feature to select a location. Once a location is chosen, the internet connection is no longer necessary.
Users can customize the display to show or hide details such as seconds, AM/PM, and the use of US or EU daylight savings time.
This app is useful for individuals participating in activities such as hunting, fishing, photography, general aviation pilots, camping, hauling wide loads, trucking, and walking.
5. Sun Surveyor Lite
Sun Surveyor Lite is a mobile application that offers various features to help photographers, filmmakers, solar industry professionals, architects, real estate agents, and gardeners. The app provides information on sunrise, sunset, and the magic hours. It enables users to scout for the best locations and effectively plan to get the perfect shot. The app’s 3D Compass and detailed Ephemeris provide a wealth of information about the sun, including its path throughout the day or year.
The app offers additional features such as a visual time machine that allows users to take a quick glance at the light for a day or dial in desired compositions easily. It also provides twilight times such as civil, nautical, and astronomical, and offers sun shadow information to calculate the length of shadows cast by objects. The app also compensates for magnetic declination.
To access more features, users can check out the full version of Sun Surveyor, which offers live camera view with augmented reality projections of the sun and moon paths, interactive map view to plan remote shots or PV array placement, and street view panoramas with 360-degree spherical panoramas with selected sun, moon, and Milky Way events overlaid. The full version also provides moon information such as moon position, moonrise, moonset, moon phases, apogee, perigee, distance, and a Super Moon finder. It shows clients the quality and quantity of seasonal sunlight at a remote location and helps users understand the potential shade of surroundings and discover any obstructions. The app also enables users to create images of summer and winter Solstice & Equinox paths for a site, prepare night photography shots with the Milky Way & star trail features, and use offline mode (excludes map view, street view) by entering coordinates, saving & loading locations with no data connection or GPS available. Finally, the app allows users to measure distance and difference between elevations and vertical angle differentials with the map view and import and export Google Earth .kmz/.
6. LunaSolCal Mobile
This application provides users with a more efficient way to monitor the activity of the sun and moon. It is equipped with a feature that allows quick calculation of important data such as sunrise, solar noon, sunset, twilight times, equation of time, declination, azimuth of sunrise and sunset, altitude of sun at noon, moon rise, moon transit, moon set, declination, azimuth of moon rise and moon set, altitude of moon during transit, date of next new/full moon, sun path during the day, moon path during the day, and solstice and equinox dates.
Users can specify their location through a GPS receiver, a list of more than 30,000 cities, or WGS-84 coordinates. The application covers a wide range of dates, including any date between 01/01/1901 and 01/31/2099. A special layout for tablet devices (8-inch and larger) is also available.
Additionally, information from the application can be shared on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. It should be noted, however, that the accuracy of the calculations may decrease for locations north of 65°N and south of 65°S.
7. Sunrise Sunset
This application provides users with sunrise and sunset timings for any place in the world and for any date. Location selection is automatic, but users may choose from over thousands of cities worldwide.
The application offers a 3D visualization that shows and explains the path of the sun and the duration of the day. It also features two widgets to keep track of daily timings and the rise and set times of the planets.
Additionally, the application offers civil, astronomical, and nautical sunrise and sunset times. Furthermore, it shows transit time, length of day, Julian Day, right ascension (RA), and declination of the sun.
The application is useful for photographers as it can help them keep track of the golden hours and plan photo shoots. It is also useful in astronomy for planning out solar observations.
As a tip, users can keep pressing on the [<] or [>] button to see the duration of day and night changing as the season changes.
8. Sunrise Companion
This application provides users with access to sunrise, sunset, and golden hour times for any location on Earth, for any date. The user interface is simplistic and free from advertisements. Daily alarms ensure that users never miss a sunrise or sunset. A daily sunrise and sunset notifications feature keeps users notified of when the sun rises and sets. The manual search functionality allows users to check sunrise and sunset times for any location on Earth. Additionally, the date picker feature allows users to plan ahead and check when the sun will rise and set for any date, past or present.
Features of the application include sunrise and sunset times, alarms, and snooze functionality. Daily sunrise and sunset notifications are available, as well as golden hour and blue hour times. A home screen widget displays sunrise and sunset times. The application also provides access to other sun times such as civil, astronomical, and nautical twilight times. Users can detect their current location using GPS and search for any location in the world. A list of favourite locations is available, and the app is ad-free.