How the light changes today

Each colour is a stage of the sky, from full night to full daylight and back. The marker is the time in Chicago right now.

Morning

Astronomical dawn05:41
Nautical dawn06:13
Civil dawn · blue hour06:46
Golden hour begins06:57
Sunrise07:15
Golden hour ends07:54

Solar noon

12:35

Sun 35.9° above the horizon

Evening

Golden hour begins17:15
Sunset17:54
Golden hour ends · blue hour18:12
Civil dusk18:23
Nautical dusk18:55
Astronomical dusk19:27

What do civil, nautical and astronomical twilight mean? Read the guide →

Where the sun rises and sets

Directions from Chicago today. The shaded fans show how far sunrise and sunset swing between June and December; the dot is the sun right now.

Sunrise at 07:15In June it rises at 57° ENE, in December at 121° ESE106° ESE

Sunset at 17:54In June it sets at 303° WNW, in December at 239° WSW254° WSW

Coming up in Chicago

Clocks go back

1 Nov

In 7 days · sunrise moves from 07:22 to 06:23

Days are getting shorter

−2.4 min a day

Shortest day 21 Dec, in 57 days

Sunrise and sunset on any date

Pick a day of 2026 to see its sunrise, sunset and daylight in Chicago.

Choose a date

Sunday, 1 November 2026

Sunrise06:23

Sunset16:45

Daylight10 h 22 min

First light (civil dawn): 05:54 · Last light (civil dusk): 17:14
Moon 54% lit

The moon tonight

Full moon

99% lit · 14.0 days old

Moonrise: 17:19
Moonset: 06:39
Full moon: tomorrow
New moon: 9 Nov

Today
99%

Mon
100%

Tue
97%

Wed
92%

Thu
85%

Fri
76%

Sat
65%

Today in Chicago

Today the sun rises over Chicago at 07:15 and sets at 17:54, giving 10 h 39 min of daylight.

Across 2026 the day length in Chicago swings by 6 h 6 min, from 9 h 8 min on 21 December to 15 h 14 min on 21 June.

The earliest sunrise of 2026 falls on 14 June, at 05:15 - not on the longest day, because the equation of time pulls the two apart.

The moon is waxing tonight, 99% lit.

A year of daylight in Chicago

Every column is one day of 2026, from midnight at the top to midnight at the bottom. Hover or drag across it to read any day.

Longest day

15 h 14 min

21 June

Shortest day

9 h 8 min

21 December

Earliest sunrise

05:15

14 June, not on the longest day

Latest sunset

20:30

26 June

Clocks forward · 8 Mar

Clocks back · 1 Nov

Today Sunrise 07:15 Sunset 17:54 Daylight 10 h 39 min Dark from 19:27

DaylightCivil twilightNautical twilightAstronomical twilightNight

The light in Chicago, season by season

Through the year

104 days with more than 14 hours of daylight, from 30 April to 11 August.
Earliest sunset of the year: 16:19 on 8 December, 13 days before the shortest day.
Latest sunrise of the year: 07:22 on 31 October.

For photographers

Golden hour this evening: 17:15–18:12, with the sun low in the west (252°).
Blue hour right after: 18:12–18:23.
Over the week the evening golden hour moves from 17:15 today to 17:06 on 31 October.
Tomorrow's morning golden hour: 06:58–07:55.

Chicago compared with other cities

How much daylight each city gets between the shortest and the longest day of 2026.

On 21 June Montréal gets 27 min more daylight than Chicago, and on 21 December 26 min less.

ChicagoThis page

9 h 8 min – 15 h 14 min

Toronto704 km away

8 h 55 min – 15 h 27 min

Washington956 km away

9 h 26 min – 14 h 54 min

New York City1,146 km away

9 h 15 min – 15 h 6 min

Montréal1,200 km away

8 h 42 min – 15 h 41 min

Each bar runs from the shortest to the longest day of the year.

October 2026 in Chicago

Sunrise, sunset and day length for every day of the month. The bar shows where the daylight falls in the 24 hours.

Sunrise, sunset and day length for every day of October 2026 in Chicago, US.
Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Day length	Change
1Thu	06:48	18:32	11 h 44 min	−3 min
2Fri	06:49	18:30	11 h 42 min	−2 min
3Sat	06:50	18:29	11 h 39 min	−3 min
4Sun	06:51	18:27	11 h 36 min	−3 min
5Mon	06:52	18:25	11 h 33 min	−3 min
6Tue	06:53	18:24	11 h 31 min	−2 min
7Wed	06:54	18:22	11 h 28 min	−3 min
8Thu	06:55	18:20	11 h 25 min	−3 min
9Fri	06:56	18:19	11 h 22 min	−3 min
10Sat	06:57	18:17	11 h 20 min	−2 min
11Sun	06:59	18:15	11 h 17 min	−3 min
12Mon	07:00	18:14	11 h 14 min	−3 min
13Tue	07:01	18:12	11 h 11 min	−3 min
14Wed	07:02	18:11	11 h 9 min	−2 min
15Thu	07:03	18:09	11 h 6 min	−3 min
16Fri	07:04	18:07	11 h 3 min	−3 min
17Sat	07:05	18:06	11 h 1 min	−2 min
18Sun	07:06	18:04	10 h 58 min	−3 min
19Mon	07:08	18:03	10 h 55 min	−3 min
20Tue	07:09	18:01	10 h 52 min	−3 min
21Wed	07:10	18:00	10 h 50 min	−2 min
22Thu	07:11	17:58	10 h 47 min	−3 min
23Fri	07:12	17:57	10 h 45 min	−2 min
24Sat	07:13	17:55	10 h 42 min	−3 min
25Sun	07:15	17:54	10 h 39 min	−3 min
26Mon	07:16	17:53	10 h 37 min	−2 min
27Tue	07:17	17:51	10 h 34 min	−3 min
28Wed	07:18	17:50	10 h 32 min	−2 min
29Thu	07:19	17:49	10 h 29 min	−3 min
30Fri	07:21	17:47	10 h 27 min	−2 min
31Sat	07:22	17:46	10 h 24 min	−3 min

Common questions about the sun in Chicago

What time does the sun rise in Chicago?

Today the sun rises in Chicago at 07:15, local time.

What time does the sun set in Chicago?

Today the sun sets in Chicago at 17:54, local time.

How long is the day in Chicago today?

Chicago gets 10 h 39 min of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset.

When is the longest day of the year in Chicago?

The longest day of 2026 in Chicago is 21 June, with 15 h 14 min of daylight.

What phase is the moon in tonight?

The moon is waxing over Chicago tonight, 99% lit.

When do the clocks change in Chicago?

The clocks go back one hour on 1 November. That day sunrise moves from 07:22 to 06:23.

Where does the sun rise in Chicago?

Today it rises in the east (106°). Through the year the sunrise point swings from the north-east (57°) in June to the south-east (121°) in December.

When is golden hour in Chicago today?

In the morning from 06:57 to 07:54, and in the evening from 17:15 to 18:12.

When is the earliest sunset in Chicago?

On 8 December, at 16:19. It comes 13 days before the shortest day, which is 21 December.

Cities at the same latitude as Chicago

At a similar latitude the day lasts almost the same on any date; the clock time of sunrise and sunset still depends on each time zone.

Rome Barcelona Istanbul Naples

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Sunrise and sunset in Chicago