How do you determine sunset?
How are the times of sunset and sunrise determined? A. Sunset and sunrise have exactly the same definition: the time when the apparent uppermost ray of the Sun is on the astronomical horizon. If it is the first ray, it is sunrise and if it is the last ray, it is sunset.
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Alpenglow will use a more accurate location to retrieve forecasts, all while keeping your position on your device and never stored online. The elevation for your location will be retrieved to calculate more accurate Sunrise, Sunset, and Magic Hour times.
For an ideal sunrise or sunset, you should look for a high cloud cover. If the clouds are too low, they will block the red and orange colors that we are hoping to see in the sky. We also want to see very puffy clouds. If the cloud cover is too thick, those red and orange wavelengths won't be able to penetrate them.
The last hour before sunset and the first hour after sunrise are coveted by professional photographers. Referred to as “the golden hour” or “magic hour,” these times provide the perfect light to capture stunning photos.
Regardless of model, she concluded, sunrise and sunset times can't be reliably predicted to better than 2 minutes. Two minutes might sound inconsequential, but Wilson noted that, if GPS fails, sailors will use celestial navigation.
As with twilight, there is civil dusk, nautical dusk, and astronomical dusk, occurring at the exact moment when the center of the sun's disk is at 6°, 12°, and 18° below the horizon, respectively.
We usually speak of the sun setting in the west, but technically it only sets due west at the spring and autumn equinoxes. For the rest of the year, the direction of sunset pivots about this westerly point, moving northerly in winter, and towards the south in summer.
How to add a sunset in your photo in Photoshop Video - YouTube
However, at sunset, light has further to travel through the atmosphere. The shorter wavelength blue light is scattered further, as the sunlight passes over a greater distance, and we see the longer wavelength yellow and red light. These effects are a cause of Rayleigh Scattering.
Can you still see the sunrise on a cloudy day?
Sometimes clouds seem too heavy to allow any sunlight through them at sunset and dawn. However, there is often a clear area just above the horizon, even when cloud cover seems complete. Wait to see if the sun slips under the clouds for a few minutes - the result can be spectacular.
Unlike the direct sunlight around sunrise or sunset, the light that causes alpenglow is reflected off airborne precipitation, ice crystals, or particulates in the lower atmosphere. These conditions differentiate between direct sunlight around sunrise or sunset and alpenglow.

- Cloud cover: generally sunrise/sunset is best when cloud coverage is between 30-70%. ...
- Humidity: sunrise/sunset is best when the humidity is low (but not too low).
- Visibility: the higher the better.
Typically, the best sunsets are seen in skies with high and mid-level clouds like altocumulus and cirrus clouds, NOAA reports. Conversely, low-lying clouds like stratus and stratocumulus clouds rarely yield noteworthy sunsets.
The best sunsets are accompanied by clouds
The certifiably BEST sunsets, all happened on cloudy days, or at when least clouds were present when the sun was setting. The clouds reflect the sun, reshape the light, bend and twist the sun in mysterious ways. Cloudy sunsets, are the most memorable sunsets.
Things that can enhance the colors of the sunset include smoke particles, dust, smog, and basically any increased number of tiny aerosols in the upper levels of the atmosphere. This enhances the scattering effect and allows for more yellow, orange, and red to reach out eyes leading to better sunsets.
The best sunsets are accompanied by clouds
The certifiably BEST sunsets, all happened on cloudy days, or at when least clouds were present when the sun was setting. The clouds reflect the sun, reshape the light, bend and twist the sun in mysterious ways. Cloudy sunsets, are the most memorable sunsets.
Sunset colors are created by a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. It's the same phenomenon that makes the sky appear blue during the day. Sunlight contains all the colors of the rainbow. But not all the colors reach the ground in the same concentration.
At sunset, when the sun is at a lower angle, the light travels a longer distance through the atmosphere. This scatters out the the blue we see during the day - and so we see more of the pinks and reds in the rainbow spectrum.