Next usable light
Mesa
6:26 PM – 7:15 PM
Solar noonDaytime66.2° · 181° S
Light windows
Fri, Aug 28 · America · PhoenixMorning
- Golden hour
- 5:44 AM – 6:33 AM49 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 5:34 AM – 5:44 AM10 min of deep blue twilight
Evening
- Golden hour
- 6:26 PM – 7:15 PM49 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 7:15 PM – 7:25 PM10 min of deep blue twilight
- Sunrise
- 6:00 AM
- Sunset
- 6:59 PM
- Day length
- 13 hr
- Solar noon
- 12:30 PM
Where to point the camera
Solar path and bearing
On this selected date, the sun reaches 66° at its highest point and the evening light approaches from 282° WNW.
Pick the month before the day
Light through 2026 in Mesa
Plan around the season: Mesa's sampled golden window stretches to 55 min in December and compresses to 48 min by March. Sunset moves 57° along the horizon between December (242° WSW) and June (299° WNW), so a spot framed for one season can face away from the light in another. June days run 14 hr 21 min; by December they shrink to 9 hr 57 min.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Golden window sample | Sunset bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:32 AM | 5:43 PM | 10 hr 11 min | 5:06 PM · 54 min | 245° WSW |
| February | 7:12 AM | 6:13 PM | 11 hr | 5:38 PM · 50 min | 256° WSW |
| March | 6:39 AM | 6:36 PM | 11 hr 57 min | 6:03 PM · 48 min | 268° W |
| April | 5:58 AM | 6:58 PM | 13 hr 1 min | 6:25 PM · 49 min | 283° WNW |
| May | 5:28 AM | 7:21 PM | 13 hr 53 min | 6:46 PM · 52 min | 294° WNW |
| June | 5:18 AM | 7:39 PM | 14 hr 21 min | 7:03 PM · 54 min | 299° WNW |
| July | 5:29 AM | 7:39 PM | 14 hr 9 min | 7:03 PM · 53 min | 297° WNW |
| August | 5:51 AM | 7:15 PM | 13 hr 24 min | 6:41 PM · 50 min | 288° WNW |
| September | 6:12 AM | 6:35 PM | 12 hr 24 min | 6:03 PM · 48 min | 274° W |
| October | 6:32 AM | 5:55 PM | 11 hr 22 min | 5:21 PM · 49 min | 260° W |
| November | 7:00 AM | 5:26 PM | 10 hr 26 min | 4:50 PM · 52 min | 248° WSW |
| December | 7:25 AM | 5:22 PM | 9 hr 57 min | 4:44 PM · 55 min | 242° 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 America · Phoenix, including any daylight-saving change.
Full light and twilight schedule
Midnight to midnight
| Phase | Time |
|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 4:33 AM |
| Nautical dawn | 5:04 AM |
| Blue hour (morning) | 5:34 AM |
| Golden hour (morning) | 5:44 AM |
| Sunrise | 6:00 AM |
| Solar noon | 12:30 PM |
| Sunset | 6:59 PM |
| Golden hour (evening) | 6:26 PM |
| Blue hour (evening) | 7:15 PM |
| Nautical dusk | 7:55 PM |
| Astronomical dusk | 8:26 PM |
Seven local days in Mesa
The week ahead
| Date | Morning golden | Sunrise | Sunset | Evening golden |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Aug 28 | 5:44 AM – 6:33 AM | 6:00 AM | 6:59 PM | 6:26 PM – 7:15 PM |
| Sat, Aug 29 | 5:45 AM – 6:34 AM | 6:00 AM | 6:58 PM | 6:25 PM – 7:14 PM |
| Sun, Aug 30 | 5:46 AM – 6:34 AM | 6:01 AM | 6:57 PM | 6:24 PM – 7:12 PM |
| Mon, Aug 31 | 5:46 AM – 6:35 AM | 6:02 AM | 6:56 PM | 6:22 PM – 7:11 PM |
| Tue, Sep 1 | 5:47 AM – 6:35 AM | 6:02 AM | 6:54 PM | 6:21 PM – 7:10 PM |
| Wed, Sep 2 | 5:48 AM – 6:36 AM | 6:03 AM | 6:53 PM | 6:20 PM – 7:08 PM |
| Thu, Sep 3 | 5:48 AM – 6:37 AM | 6:04 AM | 6:52 PM | 6:19 PM – 7:07 PM |
Moon and candidate vantage points
Context to verify
Moon on the selected date
The moon over Mesa 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 282° WNW. 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 Mesa, the evening golden hour window runs 49 min on the selected date and approaches from 282° WNW. 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 Mesa
- When is golden hour in Mesa?
- Whenever the sun is between +6° above and −4° below the horizon — a band that wraps around both sunrise and sunset. For Mesa, the representative monthly window is 48 minutes in March and 55 minutes in December; separate morning and evening crossings merge or wrap overnight near the poles. Pick a date above for the minute-exact times.
- Which direction does the sun set in Mesa?
- There is no single answer — over the year the sunset point travels 57° along Mesa's horizon, between 242° WSW (December) and 299° WNW (June). The month table above lists the bearing for each month, and the sun-path panel computes it per date.
- How much does day length change in Mesa?
- Enough to reshape a shoot plan in Mesa: 9 hr 57 min of daylight in December versus 14 hr 21 min in June. See the table above for the month you're planning.
- Does Mesa 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 Mesa, the representative December 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.