Sun, Moon, Twilight tables
You can callculate tables giving you sunrise, sunset times - as well as moonrise and moonset and astronomicaland civil twilight times - for any location on earth by going to the US Naval Observatory site here.
I used this site to calculate the following tables for Driftway Observatory, then saved the results to my pages:
Use when EST is being used | Use when Daylight Savings Time is being used |
|---|---|
Sunrise and sunset times in EST. | Sunrise and sunset times in EDST. |
Moonrise and moonset times in EST. | Moonrise and moonset times in EDST. |
End and start times for Astronomical Twilight in EST. (Use for deep sky observing.) | End and start times for Astronomical Twilight in EDST.(Use for deep sky observing.) |
End and start times for Civil Twilight in EST.(Use for planet and moon observing.) | End and start times for Civil Twilight in EDST.(Use for planet and moon observing.) |
These definitions are from the Naval Observatory site:
Sunrise and sunset conventionally refer to the times when the upper edge of the disk of the Sun is on the horizon, considered unobstructed relative to the location of interest. Atmospheric conditions are assumed to be average, and the location is in a level region on the Earth's surface.
Moonrise and moonset times are computed for exactly the same circumstances as for sunrise and sunset. However, moonrise and moonset may occur at any time during a 24 hour period and, consequently, it is often possible for the Moon to be seen during daylight, and to have moonless nights. It is also possible that a moonrise or moonset does not occur relative to a specific place on a given date.
Astronomical twilight is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening when the center of the Sun is geometrically 18 degrees below the horizon. Before the beginning of astronomical twilight in the morning and after the end of astronomical twilight in the evening the Sun does not contribute to sky illumination; for a considerable interval after the beginning of morning twilight and before the end of evening twilight, sky illumination is so faint that it is practically imperceptible.
Civil twilight is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening when the center of the Sun is geometrically 6 degrees below the horizon. This is the limit at which twilight illumination is sufficient, under good weather conditions, for terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished; at the beginning of morning civil twilight, or end of evening civil twilight, the horizon is clearly defined and the brightest stars are visible under good atmospheric conditions in the absence of moonlight or other illumination. In the morning before the beginning of civil twilight and in the evening after the end of civil twilight, artificial illumination is normally required to carry on ordinary outdoor activities. Complete darkness, however, ends sometime prior to the beginning of morning civil twilight and begins sometime after the end of evening civil twilight.