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 Sydney right now.

Morning

Astronomical dawn04:31
Nautical dawn05:03
Civil dawn · blue hour05:34
Golden hour begins05:44
Sunrise06:00
Golden hour ends06:34

Solar noon

12:39

Sun 68.9° above the horizon

Evening

Golden hour begins18:44
Sunset19:18
Golden hour ends · blue hour19:34
Civil dusk19:45
Nautical dusk20:16
Astronomical dusk20:48

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

Where the sun rises and sets

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

Sunrise at 06:00In June it rises at 62° ENE, in December at 119° ESE106° ESE

Sunset at 19:18In June it sets at 298° WNW, in December at 241° WSW254° WSW

Coming up in Sydney

Days are getting longer

+1.9 min a day

Longest day 22 Dec, in 56 days

Sunrise and sunset on any date

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

Choose a date

Tuesday, 22 December 2026

Sunrise05:41

Sunset20:06

Daylight14 h 25 min

First light (civil dawn): 05:12 · Last light (civil dusk): 20:35
Moon 96% lit

The moon tonight

Waning gibbous

97% lit · 16.2 days old

Moonrise: 20:45
Moonset: 06:08
Full moon: 24 Nov
New moon: 9 Nov

Today
97%

Wed
92%

Thu
85%

Fri
76%

Sat
65%

Sun
54%

Mon
43%

Today in Sydney

Today the sun rises over Sydney at 06:00 and sets at 19:18, giving 13 h 18 min of daylight.

Being south of the equator, Sydney has its longest days in December and its shortest in June.

Across 2026 the day length in Sydney swings by 4 h 31 min, from 9 h 54 min on 21 June to 14 h 25 min on 22 December.

The earliest sunrise of 2026 falls on 3 October, at 05:30 - not on the longest day, because the equation of time pulls the two apart.

The moon is waning tonight, 97% lit.

A year of daylight in Sydney

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

14 h 25 min

22 December

Shortest day

9 h 54 min

21 June

Earliest sunrise

05:30

3 October, not on the longest day

Latest sunset

20:10

7 January

Clocks back · 5 Apr

Clocks forward · 4 Oct

Today Sunrise 06:00 Sunset 19:18 Daylight 13 h 18 min Dark from 20:48

DaylightCivil twilightNautical twilightAstronomical twilightNight

The light in Sydney, season by season

Through the year

64 days with more than 14 hours of daylight, from 20 November to 22 January.
Earliest sunset of the year: 16:53 on 12 June, 9 days before the shortest day.
Latest sunrise of the year: 07:09 on 4 April.

For photographers

Golden hour this evening: 18:44–19:34, with the sun low in the west (255°).
Blue hour right after: 19:34–19:45.
Over the week the evening golden hour moves from 18:44 today to 18:49 on 2 November.
Tomorrow's morning golden hour: 05:43–06:33.

Sydney compared with other cities

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

On 21 June Singapore gets 2 h 18 min more daylight than Sydney, and on 21 December 2 h 22 min less.

SydneyThis page

9 h 54 min – 14 h 25 min

Melbourne713 km away

9 h 33 min – 14 h 47 min

Brisbane733 km away

10 h 24 min – 13 h 53 min

Perth3,290 km away

10 h 3 min – 14 h 15 min

Singapore6,299 km away

12 h 3 min – 12 h 12 min

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

October 2026 in Sydney

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 Sydney, AU.
Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Day length	Change
1Thu	05:33	17:58	12 h 25 min	+2 min
2Fri	05:32	17:58	12 h 27 min	+2 min
3Sat	05:30	17:59	12 h 29 min	+2 min
4Sun	06:29	19:00	12 h 31 min	+2 min
5Mon	06:27	19:01	12 h 33 min	+2 min
6Tue	06:26	19:01	12 h 35 min	+2 min
7Wed	06:25	19:02	12 h 37 min	+2 min
8Thu	06:23	19:03	12 h 39 min	+2 min
9Fri	06:22	19:04	12 h 41 min	+2 min
10Sat	06:21	19:04	12 h 44 min	+3 min
11Sun	06:19	19:05	12 h 46 min	+2 min
12Mon	06:18	19:06	12 h 48 min	+2 min
13Tue	06:17	19:07	12 h 50 min	+2 min
14Wed	06:16	19:07	12 h 52 min	+2 min
15Thu	06:14	19:08	12 h 54 min	+2 min
16Fri	06:13	19:09	12 h 56 min	+2 min
17Sat	06:12	19:10	12 h 58 min	+2 min
18Sun	06:11	19:11	13 h 0 min	+2 min
19Mon	06:09	19:12	13 h 2 min	+2 min
20Tue	06:08	19:12	13 h 4 min	+2 min
21Wed	06:07	19:13	13 h 6 min	+2 min
22Thu	06:06	19:14	13 h 8 min	+2 min
23Fri	06:05	19:15	13 h 10 min	+2 min
24Sat	06:04	19:16	13 h 12 min	+2 min
25Sun	06:02	19:17	13 h 14 min	+2 min
26Mon	06:01	19:17	13 h 16 min	+2 min
27Tue	06:00	19:18	13 h 18 min	+2 min
28Wed	05:59	19:19	13 h 20 min	+2 min
29Thu	05:58	19:20	13 h 22 min	+2 min
30Fri	05:57	19:21	13 h 24 min	+2 min
31Sat	05:56	19:22	13 h 26 min	+2 min

Common questions about the sun in Sydney

What time does the sun rise in Sydney?

Today the sun rises in Sydney at 06:00, local time.

What time does the sun set in Sydney?

Today the sun sets in Sydney at 19:18, local time.

How long is the day in Sydney today?

Sydney gets 13 h 18 min of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset.

When is the longest day of the year in Sydney?

The longest day of 2026 in Sydney is 22 December, with 14 h 25 min of daylight.

What phase is the moon in tonight?

The moon is waning over Sydney tonight, 97% lit.

Where does the sun rise in Sydney?

Today it rises in the east (106°). Through the year the sunrise point swings from the north-east (62°) in June to the south-east (119°) in December.

When is golden hour in Sydney today?

In the morning from 05:44 to 06:34, and in the evening from 18:44 to 19:34.

When is the earliest sunset in Sydney?

On 12 June, at 16:53. It comes 9 days before the shortest day, which is 21 June.

Cities at the same latitude as Sydney

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.

Cape Town Santiago Buenos Aires Montevideo

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Sunrise and sunset in Sydney