Solar Time
What time is noon?
At solar noon, the Sun crosses your local meridian. On a solar clock, that moment is 12:00.
Read Solar TimeSOLAR Learn
Time was not always one thing.
The Sun gave us noon long before a time zone did. Start with one question, one fact and one live idea at a time.
Seasonal Hours
An hour does not have to be sixty minutes.
Daylight is divided into twelve equal parts. As the day grows or shrinks, the daylight hour changes with it.
Read Seasonal HoursByzantine Time
The day begins at sunset.
A new equal-hour cycle returns to 12:00 at the local sunset.
Read Byzantine TimeThe Solar Day
Your shadow is a clock.
Sunrise, solar noon, sunset and twilight describe where you are inside a changing day.
Read the Solar DayGolden Hour
Golden hour is not a fixed time. It is light.
It arrives when the Sun enters a low angular range, so its civil-clock time moves with place and season.
Read Golden HourTwilight
Night does not begin all at once.
Civil, nautical and astronomical twilight name the stages of fading solar light below the horizon.
Read TwilightSolar Reminders
Follow the event, not a fixed clock time.
A reminder can move with sunrise, sunset, golden hour or dawn as the year changes.
Read Solar Reminders