When is golden hour in Chicago?

Today, the evening golden hour in Chicago runs 3:59 PM to 4:58 PM; the morning window is 6:09 AM to 7:08 AM. Combined total today is 1h 56m. Across 2026, the longest combined golden-hour day is Dec 21 — 2h 9m.

When does civil twilight start and end in Chicago?

Civil twilight in Chicago today runs 5:58 AM to 5:09 PM. It's the period when the sun is between -0.833° and -6° elevation; the brightest stars become visible at the dusk boundary.

What is the longest astronomical-night day of the year in Chicago?

Chicago's longest stretch of true astronomical darkness in 2026 is Dec 21 — 11h 31m. Astronomical twilight ends when the sun reaches -18° elevation; only beyond that do deep-sky targets become observable.

Are there white nights in Chicago?

No. Chicago's latitude produces a full civil/nautical/astronomical twilight ladder on every day of 2026.

Daylight curve

Daylight in Chicago, 2026

41.88°N · 87.63°W. Each vertical bar is one day of the year — bar height shows total daylight minutes.

Daylight values are generated from the city coordinates and solar-position math during the page revalidation window.

Longest day

15.2h

2026-06-19

Shortest day

9.1h

2026-12-17

Average

12.2h

Δ seasonal

12h

18h

24h

Today's solar window

Sun and twilight in Chicago

Sunrise

6:27 AM

Solar noon

11:34 AM

Sunset

4:40 PM

Day length

10h 12m

Civil twilight (-6°)

5:58 AM to 5:09 PM

Nautical twilight (-12°)

5:25 AM to 5:42 PM

Astronomical twilight (-18°)

4:53 AM to 6:15 PM

Golden hour1h 56m total

6:09 AM to 7:08 AM · 3:59 PM to 4:58 PM

Blue hour22m total

5:58 AM to 6:09 AM · 4:58 PM to 5:09 PM

Seasonal checkpoints

Solstice and equinox anchors

March equinox

Mar 20

12h 9m

June solstice

Jun 21

15h 14m

September equinox

Sep 22

12h 10m

December solstice

Dec 21

9h 8m

Full-year edge cases: 0 polar-day entries and 0 polar-night entries in the 2026 curve.

City solar dossier

Chicago daylight facts that are not generic

These rows bind the page to Chicago's coordinates, local timezone, annual daylight spread, twilight availability, and peer-city curve rather than a reusable sunrise template.

Coordinate model

Chicago is computed at 41.88°N, 87.63°W in America/Chicago. The coordinate, not the country or timezone alone, controls the curve.

Annual daylight spread

6h 6m between Dec 17 (9h 8m) and Jun 19 (15h 14m).

Local-date snapshot

Today resolves to sunrise 6:27 AM, solar noon 11:34 AM, and sunset 4:40 PM.

Photographer signal

golden hour today 1h 56m; blue hour today 22m; longest golden-hour day Dec 21 — 2h 9m

Darkness and white-night risk

365 days include astronomical darkness; 0 civil white-night days and 0 astronomical white-night days are modeled in 2026.

Best comparison anchors

Rome (6h 7m swing); New York (5h 51m swing); Madrid (5h 47m swing); Toronto (6h 31m swing); Seoul (5h 12m swing)

Solar evidence pack

Why this Chicago sun page is retained

This audit ties the page to a retained city route, exact coordinates, local timezone, a full-year daylight curve, twilight thresholds, and peer-city comparisons.

12/12checks

Retained city route

pass

/sun/chicago/ resolves to Chicago, United States; the route is generated only from the retained SUN_CITIES list.

Coordinate precision

pass

41.88°N, 87.63°W; latitude band mid-latitude band; Northern Hemisphere.

Local timezone

pass

America/Chicago is used to anchor today's local sunrise, sunset, solar noon, and twilight windows.

Full-year daylight curve

pass

365 daily daylight rows were computed for 2026; expected 365.

Annual extremes

pass

Longest Jun 19 (15h 14m), shortest Dec 17 (9h 8m), average 12h 13m.

Seasonal momentum

pass

Fastest gain Jan 29 (+3m from the previous day); fastest loss Aug 4 (-3m from the previous day); closest 12-hour day Mar 17 at 12h (no change from 12h).

Local-day solar snapshot

pass

Today: sunrise 6:27 AM, solar noon 11:34 AM, sunset 4:40 PM.

Twilight ladder

pass

Golden Dec 21 — 2h 9m; blue Jun 21 — 27m; civil Jun 21 — 1h 9m; astronomical night Dec 21 — 11h 31m.

Darkness and white-night model

pass

365 days with astronomical darkness; 0 civil white-night days; 0 astronomical white-night days.

Seasonal checkpoints

pass

March equinox: 12h 9m; June solstice: 15h 14m; September equinox: 12h 10m; December solstice: 9h 8m

Peer curve comparison

pass

Rome (6h 7m); New York (5h 51m); Madrid (5h 47m); Toronto (6h 31m); Seoul (5h 12m)

Method and citation boundary

pass

Solar thresholds are NOAA-style; timezone rules use IANA. The page is a planning model, not a legal almanac or obstruction-aware site survey.

Practical read

How to use this solar profile

Photography

1h 56m golden hour today

Best annual golden-hour day: Dec 21 — 2h 9m. Blue-hour total today: 22m.

Astronomy

365 true-darkness days

Longest astronomical-night entry: Dec 21 — 11h 31m. Use local cloud cover and moon phase separately.

Outdoor routine

10h 12m daylight today

Sunrise 6:27 AM and sunset 4:40 PM are the practical day-boundaries for school runs, work windows, and outdoor activity.

Seasonal planning

6h 6m annual swing

June average 15h 10m; December average 9h 11m. This is the year-scale gap to check before travel or outdoor scheduling.

Travel comparison

10 retained peer curves

Chicago's closest daylight-pattern peers here include Rome (6h 7m annual swing), New York (5h 51m annual swing), Madrid (5h 47m annual swing), Toronto (6h 31m annual swing).

Civil-light risk

Full civil-twilight bound all year

Civil twilight uses -6°. White-night counts matter because dawn/dusk phases stop behaving like ordinary morning/evening windows.

Calculation boundaries

What this model can and cannot promise

What this model includes

Latitude, longitude, solar elevation thresholds, atmospheric-refraction sunrise/sunset convention, America/Chicago local formatting, and a 365-day sweep for 2026.

What this model excludes

Mountains, skyline obstruction, sea horizon differences, weather, smoke, cloud cover, local legal definitions, aviation rules, and observer elevation.

When to verify elsewhere

Use official observatory, aviation, maritime, legal, or local almanac sources for high-stakes operations; this page is designed for planning, comparison, and general reference.

Why city pages differ

Two cities in America/Chicago can still have different daylight and twilight curves because the coordinate pair, especially latitude, drives the result.

Seasonal daylight fingerprint

How daylight changes through 2026

These values are derived from the same 365-day curve: threshold counts, fastest day-to-day change, the closest 12-hour balance, and monthly daylight averages.

14h+ daylight days

105

Days at or above fourteen hours of sun.

10h-or-less days

Short-day entries at ten hours or below.

Fastest gain

Jan 29 (+3m from the previous day)

Fastest loss

Aug 4 (-3m from the previous day)

Closest 12-hour balance

Mar 17 at 12h (no change from 12h)

Brightest month

June average 15h 10m

Shortest month

December average 9h 11m

Year-round photographer planning

Golden & blue hour across 2026

Combined morning + evening windows, computed for every UTC day of the year.

Longest golden hour day: Dec 21 — 2h 9m
Shortest non-zero golden hour day: Mar 22 — 1h 48m
Year-round daily average: 1h 57m
Longest blue hour day: Jun 21 — 27m
Blue-hour daily average: 24m
Longest civil twilight: Jun 21 — 1h 9m
Civil twilight average: 1h 1m
Longest astronomical night: Dec 21 — 11h 31m
Days with true darkness: 365 / 365

Twilight phases reference

What each phase means

Solar elevation thresholds used on this page. All angles are measured from the true horizon at the city coordinate.

Sunrise / sunset · -0.833°
The sun's upper edge crosses the horizon. The negative value is atmospheric refraction (~34') plus the apparent solar disc radius (~16') — what almanacs call "official" sunrise/sunset.
Golden hour · 6° to -4°
Warm, low-angle light photographers and cinematographers plan around. Two windows per day — one in the morning, one in the evening.
Blue hour · -4° to -6°
Sky takes on deep, even blues; useful for cityscape photography because artificial lights and ambient sky balance.
Civil twilight · -6°
Brightest natural objects are still visible; outdoor activities don't need artificial light. Used in many legal definitions of dawn/dusk.
Nautical twilight · -12°
Horizon is just visible at sea, allowing celestial navigation; named for sailors taking sextant fixes.
Astronomical twilight · -18°
Sky is dark enough for deep-sky observation. After astronomical dusk and before astronomical dawn is when astrophotographers shoot.

Solar planning depth

What the Chicago daylight curve means

This section turns the chart into readable planning context: latitude, seasonal range, monthly checkpoints, and how the curve should be used.

Solar fingerprint

Chicago, United States is modeled at 41.88°N, 87.63°W in America/Chicago. That coordinate pair drives every bar in the 2026 daylight curve.

Seasonal swing

The longest day is Jun 19 at 15h 14m; the shortest is Dec 17 at 9h 8m. The yearly range is 6h 6m, which makes this a moderate seasonal daylight profile.

Latitude context

Chicago sits in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude band. Latitude is the main reason two cities in the same timezone can have very different sunrise, sunset, and day-length patterns.

Monthly anchors

Useful checkpoints in this curve: Jan 15 9h 29m, Mar 15 11h 54m, Jun 15 15h 13m, and Sep 15 12h 30m. These anchors help readers see the shape of the year without reading all 365 bars one by one.

Today and twilight

Today in Chicago, sunrise is about 6:27 AM, sunset about 4:40 PM, solar noon 11:34 AM, and daylight totals 10h 12m. Civil twilight runs 5:58 AM to 5:09 PM; golden hour windows are 6:09 AM to 7:08 AM and 3:59 PM to 4:58 PM.

Golden hour planning

Today's combined morning + evening golden hour totals 1h 56m. The longest combined golden hour day of 2026 is Dec 21 — 2h 9m. The shortest non-zero day is Mar 22 — 1h 48m. Year-round average is 1h 57m per day across days where a golden-hour window exists.

Twilight ladder

Nautical twilight today: 5:25 AM to 5:42 PM. Astronomical twilight today: 4:53 AM to 6:15 PM. The single longest stretch of true astronomical darkness in 2026 occurs on Dec 21 — 11h 31m. 365 days in 2026 include at least some astronomical darkness.

Seasonal momentum

Fastest daily daylight gain: Jan 29 (+3m from the previous day). Fastest daily daylight loss: Aug 4 (-3m from the previous day). Closest 12-hour balance: Mar 17 at 12h (no change from 12h). Average-month anchors: June average 15h 10m is brightest, while December average 9h 11m is shortest. 105 days reach 14h+ daylight; 82 days stay at 10h or less.

Blue and civil light

Today's combined blue hour totals 22m. The longest combined blue-hour day is Jun 21 — 27m. Blue-hour average is 24m per usable day. The longest civil-twilight-only day is Jun 21 — 1h 9m. Civil twilight averages 1h 1m where both dawn and dusk edges exist.

Sunrise and sunset are approximations for planning and comparison. For legal, aviation, photography, or scientific use, verify with a local almanac or official observatory source.

Frequently asked questions

Chicago sun questions

When is golden hour in Chicago?: Today, the evening golden hour in Chicago runs 3:59 PM to 4:58 PM; the morning window is 6:09 AM to 7:08 AM. Combined total today is 1h 56m. Across 2026, the longest combined golden-hour day is Dec 21 — 2h 9m.
When does civil twilight start and end in Chicago?: Civil twilight in Chicago today runs 5:58 AM to 5:09 PM. It's the period when the sun is between -0.833° and -6° elevation; the brightest stars become visible at the dusk boundary.
What is the longest astronomical-night day of the year in Chicago?: Chicago's longest stretch of true astronomical darkness in 2026 is Dec 21 — 11h 31m. Astronomical twilight ends when the sun reaches -18° elevation; only beyond that do deep-sky targets become observable.
Are there white nights in Chicago?: No. Chicago's latitude produces a full civil/nautical/astronomical twilight ladder on every day of 2026.

Comparable daylight curves

These are selected by latitude and annual daylight swing, not by the generic city list, so the comparison is tied to Chicago's actual solar profile.