TWILIGHT

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 TWILIGHT:

The concept suggests vagueness. But in actuality, it’s a

very specific event. And there is really not one twilight
but three! And they are each so distinct, they have
their own names. Below describe the stages of twilight
as they occur in the evening. These stages also occur
before sunrise, in the reverse order.

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 TWILIGHT:
You can define twilight simply as the illumination of the lower
atmosphere OR the soft glowing light from the sky when the
sun is below the horizon.
The time between day and night when there is light outside,
but the Sun is below horizon, whether that’s after sunset, or
before sunrise. It’s a time when the light from the sky appears
diffused and often pinkish. The sun is below the horizon, but
its rays are scattered by Earth’s atmosphere to create the
colors of twilight.
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 TWILIGHT:

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 TWILIGHT:

This time of twilight is important for a lot of reasons

to many people – for example, astronomers, who are
waiting for true darkness to fall so they can begin their
observations. So some more strict definitions have
evolved on the subject of twilight.

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 REFLECTING SUNLIGHT:

Twilight occurs when Earth's upper atmosphere

scatters and reflects sunlight which illuminates the
lower atmosphere. Some light scatters through small
particles in the atmosphere – so there’s still some light
in the sky so that Earth's surface is neither completely
lit nor completely dark.

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 TYPES OF TWILIGHT:
Astronomers define the three stages of twilight – civil,
nautical, and astronomical – on the basis of the Sun's
elevation which is the angle that the geometric center of
the Sun makes with the horizon.
There are three types of twilight:
1. Civil twilight
2. Nautical twilight
3. Astronomical twilight
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
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 CIVIL TWILIGHT:

Civil twilight occurs when the geometrical center of

the Sun is less than 6 degrees below the horizon.
In the morning, civil twilight begins when the Sun is 6
degrees below the horizon and ends at sunrise. In the
evening, it begins at sunset and ends when the Sun
reaches 6 degrees below the horizon.

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 CIVIL TWILIGHT:
Civil twilight is the brightest form of twilight. There is
enough natural sunlight during this period that artificial light
may not be required to carry out outdoor activities. Only the
brightest celestial objects can be observed by the naked eye
during this time.
Several countries use this definition of civil twilight to make
laws related to aviation, hunting, and the usage of
headlights and street lamps.
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 NAUTICAL TWILIGHT:
Nautical twilight occurs when the geometrical center of
the Sun is between 6 degrees and 12 degrees below the
horizon. This twilight period is less bright than civil
twilight and artificial light is generally required for outdoor
activities.
It begins when it’s fairly dark outside. By definition,
nautical twilight ends when the horizon stops being visible
or vanishes, when a mariner cannot distinguish between
sea and sky. M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 NAUTICAL TWILIGHT:

The term, nautical twilight, dates back to the time

when sailors used the stars to navigate the seas. During
this time, most stars can be easily seen with naked
eyes. In addition to being important to navigation on
the seas, nautical twilight also have military
implications.

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 ASTRONOMICAL TWILIGHT:
Astronomical twilight occurs when the geometrical
center of the Sun is between 12 degrees and 18
degrees below the horizon.
The conclusion of this stage of twilight heralds the
arrival of full darkness. After this point, the faintest
stars emerge when all traces of sky glow are gone.
Then astronomers can begin to observe the stars,
assuming no clouds are in the way!
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 ASTRONOMICAL TWILIGHT:

In the morning, the sky is completely dark before the

onset of astronomical twilight, and in the evening,
the sky becomes completely dark at the end of
astronomical twilight. Any celestial bodies that can
be viewed by the naked eye can be observed in the sky
after the end of this phase.

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 SUNRISE & SUNSET:
Sunrise is the daily appearance of the Sun above the
horizon due to Earth’s rotation and it occurs when the
upper edge of the Sun – called the upper limb - rises
just above the horizon in the morning.
Sunset is the daily disappearance of the Sun below
the horizon due to Earth's rotation and it occurs when
the upper limb sinks just under the horizon in the
evening.
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 SUNRISE & SUNSET:

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 DAWN & DUSK:
The morning twilight is often called Dawn, while the
evening twilight is also known as Dusk. A number of
atmospheric phenomena and colors can be seen during
twilight.
Civil dawn is the moment when the geometric center of
the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon in the morning.
Civil dusk is the moment when the geometrical center of
the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon in the evening.
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 DAWN & DUSK:
Nautical dawn occurs when the Sun is 12 degrees below the
horizon during the morning. Nautical dusk occurs when the
Sun goes 12 degrees below the horizon in the evening.
Astronomical dawn is the time when the geometric center of
the Sun is at 18 degrees below the horizon in the morning.
Before this time, the sky is absolutely dark. Astronomical
dusk is the instant when the geometric center of the Sun is at
18 degrees below the horizon in the evening. After this point,
the sky is no longer illuminated.
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 DAWN & DUSK:

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 DURATIONS:

Twilight’s duration is not usually expressed in units of

time, but rather degrees, and for good reason: its
length varies.
Depending on the time of year and the latitude of the
observer, twilight can expire in less than an hour or
linger throughout the night!

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 DURATIONS:
There’s much more to it than pretty colors. Twilight
plays host to phenomena not seen at any other time,
such as those crepuscular rays, or the appearance of
Mercury or Venus, or the sudden profusion of Earth
satellites, which are most numerous during the first 90
minutes after nautical twilight ends, or Earth’s
shadow, looking like a blue-gray band low in the east
during twilight’s first 15 minutes.
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 TWILIGHT FROM OUTER SPACE:

If you could see twilight from outer space, you’d find

that it isn’t marked by a sharp boundary on Earth’s
surface. Instead, the shadow line on Earth – sometimes
called the terminator – is spread over a fairly wide
area on the surface and shows the gradual transition to
darkness we all experience as night falls.

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 THE GOLDEN HOUR:
When the Sun is close to the horizon on a sunny day, its
light appears warmer and softer. This makes the golden
hour, also known as the magical hour, popular with
photographers and filmmakers.
Because the golden hour is a colloquial term, it doesn't
have an official definition similar to dawn, dusk, and
the 3 phases of twilight. Rather, it refers to a state of
natural lighting that is most common around sunrise and
sunset. M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 THE GOLDEN HOUR:

However, the warm sunlight that is characteristic for

the golden hour most likely occurs when the Sun is
between 6 degrees above and 6 degrees below the
horizon. By this definition, the golden hour begins
with civil dawn in the morning and ends with civil
dusk in the evening.

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 THE GOLDEN HOUR:

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 THE BLUE HOUR:
Blue hour is simply the period of twilight before
sunrise and after sunset when the atmosphere has a
deep, dark blue color when the Sun is at a significant
depth below the horizon.
Like the famous golden hour, blue hour is not really
an hour, it is a colloquial term, it lacks an official
definition similar to dawn, dusk, and the 3 phases of
twilight.
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 THE BLUE HOUR:

Its exact length depends on your latitude, time of

year, and weather conditions. The important thing is
that the sun must be a decent way beneath the
horizon, and the sky can’t have too many sunrise or
sunset colors – mainly just blue. On a clear day, blue
hour includes civil and nautical twilight.

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 THE BLUE HOUR:

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
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