Sunrise and sunset in Washington, D.C.
In Washington, D.C. today, the sun rises at 7:04 AM and sets at 6:51 PM. Day length: 11 h 47 min. Golden hour today: 6:48 AM–7:40 AM in the morning and 6:15 PM–7:07 PM in the evening.
Thursday, October 1 2026 · United States
Thursday, October 1 2026 · Times in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
Sunrise 7:04 AM · Sunset 6:51 PM · Day length 11 h 47 min
Twilight
| Event | Time | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 5:35 AM | |
| Nautical dawn | 6:07 AM | |
| Civil dawn | 6:38 AM | |
| Sunrise | 7:04 AM | E 94° |
| Solar noon | 12:58 PM | 47.7° |
| Sunset | 6:51 PM | W 266° |
| Civil dusk | 7:17 PM | |
| Nautical dusk | 7:48 PM | |
| Astronomical dusk | 8:19 PM |
Golden and blue hour
| Event | Begins | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Morning blue hour | 6:38 AM | 6:48 AM |
| Morning golden hour | 6:48 AM | 7:40 AM |
| Evening golden hour | 6:15 PM | 7:07 PM |
| Evening blue hour | 7:07 PM | 7:17 PM |
Month table: October 2026
| Date | Civil dawn | Sunrise | Solar noon | Sunset | Civil dusk | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Oct 1 | 6:38 AM | 7:04 AM | 12:58 PM | 6:51 PM | 7:17 PM | 11 h 47 min |
| Fri, Oct 2 | 6:39 AM | 7:05 AM | 12:57 PM | 6:49 PM | 7:16 PM | 11 h 44 min |
| Sat, Oct 3 | 6:39 AM | 7:06 AM | 12:57 PM | 6:48 PM | 7:14 PM | 11 h 42 min |
| Sun, Oct 4 | 6:40 AM | 7:07 AM | 12:57 PM | 6:46 PM | 7:13 PM | 11 h 39 min |
Daylight through the year
- Daylight
- Civil twilight
- Nautical twilight
- Astronomical twilight
- Night
Each column is one day. Yellow shows daylight, the blue shades show civil, nautical and astronomical twilight, dark blue is night. Steps in spring and autumn are daylight saving time changes.
Sun path
- Selected day
- June solstice
- December solstice
The sun’s path across the sky seen from above: the centre is straight overhead, the edge is the horizon. Solid: selected day. Dashed: June and December solstices.
Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. How we calculate
Sun facts in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. lies at 38.9072° N, 77.0369° W, 22 m above sea level, in the America/New York time zone.
The longest day of 2026 is June 21, with 14 h 54 min of daylight.
The shortest day is December 21, with only 9 h 26 min.
The earliest sunset (4:46 PM) is on December 7 and the latest sunrise (7:34 AM) on October 31: neither falls on the shortest day, because of the equation of time.
At noon, the sun climbs to 75° above the horizon in June but only 28° in December.
In June, Washington, D.C. gets 1 h 36 min more daylight than Mexico City; in December the difference is 1 h 31 min the other way.
Clocks go forward on March 8 and back on November 1.
About the sun in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. lies at about 38.9° N. Its long views along the National Mall run almost exactly east-west, so around the equinoxes the sun rises and sets close to the axis of the Mall, between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. Days range from about 14 hours 55 minutes in June to 9 hours 25 minutes in December.