Chapter 26

Time (3)

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Sunrise and Sunset
• Local noon occurs at the same Local Mean Time on all meridians (1200
hrs LMT).
• It is also true to say that the Sun rises at the same LMT at all places
on the same parallel of latitude and it sets at the same LMT at all
places on the same parallel of latitude.

Northern Summer/Southern Winter

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• This is illustrated for the situation on or about 21 June (Midsummer
Day) when the Sun’s declination is furthest North, i.e. the Sun is
overhead the Tropic of Cancer (23½°N): the Earth’s North Pole is tilted
towards the Sun.
• An observer at R would rotate eastwards as shown. He would
experience a short period of night and a long period of day.
• Thus, the Sun must rise earlier than 0600 hours and set later than
1800 hours. (In the Northern hemisphere, it is summer).
• An observer at E……
• An observer at S………
• An observer at R………
• An observer at X……….

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Sunrise and Sunset Tables - Methodology
• The Air Almanac provides tables from which the LMT of sunrise and
sunset can be extracted.
• Times are shown for every third day and for various latitudes between
72N and 60S.
• If the latitude for which the time of sunrise or sunset is required is not
one of the listed latitudes, it is necessary to interpolate to the nearest
minute of time.
• Note: Listed latitudes are 10° apart near the Equator, 5° apart in mid
latitudes, and 2° apart in high latitudes
• Similarly, if the required date is not one of those listed, it is necessary
to interpolate to the nearest minute. Interpolation is only required to
the nearest minute.

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Muhaned Gilani General Navigation
Muhaned Gilani General Navigation
• Sunrise and sunset problems are really ordinary time problems, the
starting point of which is the LMT of sunrise or sunset at a given
position.
• Example 1
• Give the Standard Time of sunset at Innsbruck, Austria (4715N
01120E) on 5th September.
D H M
• Sunset 47°15’N (from AA) 5th 18 33 LMT
• Arc/Time (Long. 11°20’E) - 45
• Sunset Innsbruck 5th 17 48 UTC
• STD Austria + 01 00 (List 1)
5th 18 48 ST

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Muhaned Gilani General Navigation
• Example 3
• An aircraft lands at Goose, Labrador, Canada (5320N 06020W) at 1841
Standard Time on 20th September. Is it a day or night landing? (Ignore
Summer Time).
• The Air Navigation Order defines the period of night flying as from 30
minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise at the surface.
D H M
• Sunset Goose (from AA) 20th 18 05 LMT
• Arc/Time (Long. 06020West) + 04 01
• UTC of Sunset Goose 20th 22 06 UTC
• STD Labrador - 04 00 (List 3)
• Sunset Goose (Labrador ST) 20th 18 06 ST
• Landing Goose 20th 18 41 ST
• Landing is 35 minutes after sunset. Night Landing (according to the
ANO definition
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Twilight
• Before sunrise, there is a period when it becomes light, and after
sunset there is a period when it remains light. These periods are called
generally ‘twilight’.

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• Although the Sun is below the horizon, the Sun’s rays are being
refracted in from the atmosphere and result in an extended period of
light.
• It is therefore worthwhile to consider what we call the ‘horizon’.
• Consider an observer at position Q on the Earth’s surface.
• His ‘Sensible Horizon’ is the tangent to the Earth’s surface (ignoring
terrain features).
• This is the horizon that would be ‘sensed’ by instruments such as a
spirit level.

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• Because of atmospheric refraction, the ‘visual’ horizon is below the
‘sensible’ horizon by about 34’ of arc.
• When the top ‘lip’ of the Sun passes below the visual horizon, at
sunset, the centre of the Sun is another 16’ of arc (the radius of the
Sun viewed from Earth below the visual horizon).
• Thus the centre of the Sun is approximately 50 minutes of arc below
the sensible horizon at sunset.
• As 50’ of arc equates to 3 minutes of time, this means that at sunset,
the centre of the Sun is already 3 minutes of time below the sensible
horizon.
• at sunrise, the centre of the Sun is 3 minutes of time below the
sensible horizon.
• This explains why the length of day at the Equator is approximately 6
minutes longer than the length of night.

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Civil Twilight
• Civil twilight occurs when the Sun’s centre is between 0° 50’ and 6°
below the sensible horizon.
• Illumination is such that it is possible to carry out day time tasks
without additional artificial lighting.
• For example, a daytime visual approach is possible. This is the only
twilight period considered in the Air Almanac.

Nautical Twilight
• The centre of the Sun is between 6° and 12° below the sensible
horizon.
• (General outlines are discernible and the brighter stars are visible).

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Astronomical Twilight
• The centre of the Sun is between 12° and 18° below the sensible
horizon.
• (Astronomical twilight is often considered to be ‘complete darkness’. )

Civil Twilight Tables (Air Almanac)

• The LMT of civil twilight is given in the Air Almanac on the intervening
pages between the sunrise/sunset tables.
• The Morning Civil Twilight (MCT) tables give the time when morning
twilight starts.
• MCT ends at sunrise.
• All times are tabulated in LMT.

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Muhaned Gilani General Navigation
• The Evening Civil Twilight (ECT) tables give the time when evening
twilight ends.
• ECT starts at sunset. Again, all times are tabulated in LMT.

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• The EASA definition of ‘night’ is the ‘period between the end of evening
civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight,
• or such other period between sunset and sunrise as may be prescribed
by the appropriate authority’.
• EASA definition is the Air Navigation Order which defines the period of
night flying as from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before
sunrise at the surface.

Duration of Twilight Calculations

• To calculate the duration of twilight at a given latitude on a given date,
extract the time of sunrise or sunset for that date and the time of
MCT/ECT on the same date.
• The difference in the corresponding times gives the duration of
twilight.

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• Example
• What is the duration of evening civil twilight in New York, USA, (41N
074W) on 19 July?
• (AA Page 13) Sunset 19 July (41N) = 1929 LMT (interpolate)

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• (AA Page 14) ECT 19 July (41N) = 2001 LMT (interpolate)
• Duration of twilight = 2001 LMT - 1929 LMT
= 32 minutes.

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Extreme Cases of Twilight
• Two extreme cases exist (and are frequently examined) as follows:
• Equator
• High latitudes (say above 62N/S)
• In high latitudes, the Sun may be above or below the horizon all day,
or civil twilight may last all night.
• The following symbols in the Air Almanac indicate these conditions:
• Sun remains continuously above the horizon.
• Sun remains continuously below the horizon.
• //// In the period between sunset and sunrise, the Sun is never less
than 6° below the sensible horizon.

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Muhaned Gilani General Navigation
Twilight at the Equator
• It is a false idea that after sunset at the Equator, it is dark
immediately.
• To demonstrate the true situation, consider the path of the Sun as
viewed by an observer at the Equator on or about March 21st/Sep 21st
(the Equinoxes).
• Looking to the East, the Sun will rise and travel apparently vertically
upwards until it is directly overhead the observer.
• It will then descend vertically to the western horizon where it will set.

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Muhaned Gilani General Navigation
• At sunset, at position A, the centre of the Sun is 50’ of arc below the
sensible horizon.
• At position B, the centre of the Sun is 6° below the sensible horizon;
this is the end of evening civil twilight.
• The duration of twilight is therefore 5°10’ of angular arc - 21 minutes
of time - the minimum period of twilight at the Equator.

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Muhaned Gilani General Navigation
Twilight Between the Equator and 60°N/S
• Case (i)
we can demonstrate how the duration of twilight varies with latitude.
As a baseline, we use the equatorial situation described previously which
gave minimum duration of twilight of 21 minutes.

• Case (ii)
To an observer whose latitude is farther north than the declination of the
Sun (an observer in the Northern hemisphere):
• the Sun will rise in the East and will travel westward.
• at 1200 LMT (noon), the Sun will be due south of the observer
• the Sun will set in the West following the path indicated in case (ii).
• The duration of twilight will be longer than 21 minutes.

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• Case (iii)
• To an observer whose latitude is farther south than the declination of
the Sun (in this example, an observer in the Southern hemisphere):
• the Sun will rise in the East and will travel westward
• at 1200 LMT (noon), the Sun will be due north of the observer.
• the Sun will set in the West, following the general path indicated in
case (iii).
• Again, the duration of twilight will be longer than 21 minutes.

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• Twilight in High Latitudes
• In high latitudes, the Sun may remain above the horizon all day.
• Thus, on or about June 21, the Sun will remain above the horizon all
day at latitudes higher than 66°N.
• (Remember, in the Southern hemisphere further south than 66°S, the
Sun will not rise at all.) VIDEO

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• What happens earlier or later than June 21, when the Sun is lower in
the sky?
• The Sun will be lower in the sky as the latitude of the observer
increases.
• the Sun sets at position A and rises at position B. Between the times of
sunset (A) and sunrise (B), the Sun never goes below 6° below the
sensible horizon. Thus it is:
• Twilight between sunset and sunrise

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Effect on Sunrise/Sunset/Twilight of Increase in Altitude
• The times published in the Air Almanac are in Local Mean Time (LMT)
and are published for sea level at the appropriate position.
• Increase in altitude results in sunrise occurring earlier and sunset later
than published.
• This is due to the increased visual horizon at altitude.
• Increase in altitude results overall in a decrease in the duration of civil
twilight.
• This is because twilight is caused by refraction of the Sun’s rays from
the atmosphere; the higher the aircraft, the less light is refracted from
the (reduced) upper atmosphere.

Muhaned Gilani General Navigation

 End of Chapter 26

Muhaned Gilani General Navigation