Next usable light
Cape Town
5:52 PM – 6:42 PM
Solar noonDaytime46.3° · 360° N
Light windows
Fri, Aug 28 · Africa · JohannesburgMorning
- Golden hour
- 6:56 AM – 7:45 AM49 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 6:46 AM – 6:56 AM10 min of deep blue twilight
Evening
- Golden hour
- 5:52 PM – 6:42 PM49 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 6:42 PM – 6:51 PM10 min of deep blue twilight
- Sunrise
- 7:11 AM
- Sunset
- 6:26 PM
- Day length
- 11 hr 15 min
- Solar noon
- 12:49 PM
Where to point the camera
Solar path and bearing
On this selected date, the sun reaches 46° at its highest point and the evening light approaches from 281° W.
Pick the month before the day
Light through 2026 in Cape Town
June is the generous sample in Cape Town — 55 min of golden light — while March tightens the window to about 48 min. The 57° seasonal walk of the sunset point (241° WSW in December, 298° WNW in June) matters more than the clock time for framing. Day length spans 9 hr 54 min in June to 14 hr 24 min in December.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Golden window sample | Sunset bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5:51 AM | 8:01 PM | 14 hr 10 min | 7:25 PM · 53 min | 244° WSW |
| February | 6:22 AM | 7:41 PM | 13 hr 18 min | 7:07 PM · 50 min | 254° WSW |
| March | 6:46 AM | 7:06 PM | 12 hr 20 min | 6:33 PM · 48 min | 267° W |
| April | 7:09 AM | 6:25 PM | 11 hr 15 min | 5:51 PM · 49 min | 281° W |
| May | 7:32 AM | 5:55 PM | 10 hr 23 min | 5:19 PM · 53 min | 292° WNW |
| June | 7:50 AM | 5:45 PM | 9 hr 54 min | 5:07 PM · 55 min | 298° WNW |
| July | 7:50 AM | 5:56 PM | 10 hr 6 min | 5:18 PM · 54 min | 296° WNW |
| August | 7:27 AM | 6:17 PM | 10 hr 50 min | 5:42 PM · 51 min | 286° WNW |
| September | 6:47 AM | 6:38 PM | 11 hr 51 min | 6:05 PM · 48 min | 273° W |
| October | 6:06 AM | 7:00 PM | 12 hr 54 min | 6:26 PM · 49 min | 259° W |
| November | 5:36 AM | 7:28 PM | 13 hr 52 min | 6:53 PM · 52 min | 247° WSW |
| December | 5:30 AM | 7:54 PM | 14 hr 24 min | 7:17 PM · 55 min | 241° WSW |
Find the months when sunset faces your spot
Pick the direction your subject faces the sky. Months whose sunset lands within ±10° light up in the table above. Disabled shortcuts have no matching row in this visible mid-month sample.
Each row samples the 15th of the month at these coordinates, so dates near a month boundary can differ from the printed row — around here day length moves up to ~2 min per day in the fastest season. Clock times follow Africa · Johannesburg, including any daylight-saving change.
Full light and twilight schedule
Midnight to midnight
| Phase | Time |
|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 5:48 AM |
| Nautical dawn | 6:17 AM |
| Blue hour (morning) | 6:46 AM |
| Golden hour (morning) | 6:56 AM |
| Sunrise | 7:11 AM |
| Solar noon | 12:49 PM |
| Sunset | 6:26 PM |
| Golden hour (evening) | 5:52 PM |
| Blue hour (evening) | 6:42 PM |
| Nautical dusk | 7:20 PM |
| Astronomical dusk | 7:49 PM |
Seven local days in Cape Town
The week ahead
| Date | Morning golden | Sunrise | Sunset | Evening golden |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Aug 28 | 6:56 AM – 7:45 AM | 7:11 AM | 6:26 PM | 5:52 PM – 6:42 PM |
| Sat, Aug 29 | 6:54 AM – 7:44 AM | 7:10 AM | 6:27 PM | 5:53 PM – 6:42 PM |
| Sun, Aug 30 | 6:53 AM – 7:42 AM | 7:09 AM | 6:27 PM | 5:54 PM – 6:43 PM |
| Mon, Aug 31 | 6:52 AM – 7:41 AM | 7:07 AM | 6:28 PM | 5:54 PM – 6:44 PM |
| Tue, Sep 1 | 6:51 AM – 7:40 AM | 7:06 AM | 6:29 PM | 5:55 PM – 6:44 PM |
| Wed, Sep 2 | 6:49 AM – 7:38 AM | 7:05 AM | 6:30 PM | 5:56 PM – 6:45 PM |
| Thu, Sep 3 | 6:48 AM – 7:37 AM | 7:03 AM | 6:30 PM | 5:57 PM – 6:46 PM |
Moon and candidate vantage points
Context to verify
Moon on the selected date
The moon over Cape Town is a Full Moon, 100% lit. Treat this as lighting context, not a visibility forecast.
Candidate vantage points
The list supplies map-search starting points, not ranked recommendations. Confirm access, closures, permits, safety, and horizon obstructions yourself before setting out. For the selected date, the mathematical sunset bearing is 281° W. If the composition faces differently, use the bearing planner in the month table above to identify sampled months; the result remains a planning aid and does not prove visibility.
Plan and calculation notes
Assumptions and limits
Plan this specific light
In Cape Town, the evening golden hour window runs 49 min on the selected date and approaches from 281° W. Arrive 15 minutes before its start when that window occurs, then choose a position with an open view toward that bearing. Don't rely on the generic “one hour before sunset” rule here — the real window shifts with the season, so check the computed times for your date.
See the calculation method and limits before relying on the estimate in terrain-sensitive or safety-critical conditions.
Common questions
Golden hour FAQ for Cape Town
- When is golden hour in Cape Town?
- Start with the sun angle in Cape Town: +6° to −4°. The morning crossing carries sunrise and the later crossing carries sunset, while the representative monthly span is 48 minutes in March and 55 minutes in June. The selected-date light panel translates that geometry into local clock times.
- Which direction does the sun set in Cape Town?
- Roughly west, but the useful number changes with the season: 241° WSW in December versus 298° WNW in June in Cape Town. That 57° difference decides whether a street or shoreline actually faces the light on your date.
- How much does day length change in Cape Town?
- In Cape Town, between 9 hr 54 min (June) and 14 hr 24 min (December). The month-by-month table above lists every month.
- Does Cape Town get blue hour right after golden hour?
- Yes — they are adjacent bands of the same descent: golden hour spans +6° to −4° of solar altitude and blue hour continues from −4° to −6°. In Cape Town, the representative June golden window lasts 55 min; on ordinary dates evening blue begins when its evening side ends, while polar dates can merge or wrap overnight. The light-windows panel above computes both for any date.