Next usable light
Pittsburgh
7:24 PM – 8:17 PM
Solar noonDaytime59.2° · 181° S
Light windows
Fri, Aug 28 · America · New YorkMorning
- Golden hour
- 6:27 AM – 7:21 AM54 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 6:16 AM – 6:27 AM11 min of deep blue twilight
Evening
- Golden hour
- 7:24 PM – 8:17 PM54 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 8:17 PM – 8:28 PM11 min of deep blue twilight
- Sunrise
- 6:44 AM
- Sunset
- 8:00 PM
- Day length
- 13 hr 16 min
- Solar noon
- 1:22 PM
Where to point the camera
Solar path and bearing
On this selected date, the sun reaches 59° at its highest point and the evening light approaches from 284° WNW.
Pick the month before the day
Light through 2026 in Pittsburgh
Plan around the season: Pittsburgh's sampled golden window stretches to 1 hr 2 min in December and compresses to 53 min by March. Check the bearing column before trusting a remembered spot: sunset lands at 240° WSW in December but 302° WNW in June, a 62° shift. Between December and June the day itself stretches from 9 hr 18 min to 15 hr 3 min, dragging every window with it.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Golden window sample | Sunset bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:42 AM | 5:18 PM | 9 hr 36 min | 4:36 PM · 1 hr | 243° WSW |
| February | 7:15 AM | 5:56 PM | 10 hr 41 min | 5:17 PM · 55 min | 254° WSW |
| March | 7:33 AM | 7:27 PM | 11 hr 54 min | 6:51 PM · 53 min | 268° W |
| April | 6:42 AM | 7:59 PM | 13 hr 17 min | 7:22 PM · 54 min | 284° WNW |
| May | 6:05 AM | 8:30 PM | 14 hr 25 min | 7:51 PM · 58 min | 296° WNW |
| June | 5:50 AM | 8:53 PM | 15 hr 3 min | 8:12 PM · 1 hr 1 min | 302° WNW |
| July | 6:03 AM | 8:50 PM | 14 hr 47 min | 8:10 PM · 1 hr | 300° WNW |
| August | 6:32 AM | 8:19 PM | 13 hr 48 min | 7:42 PM · 55 min | 289° WNW |
| September | 7:02 AM | 7:31 PM | 12 hr 29 min | 6:55 PM · 53 min | 275° W |
| October | 7:31 AM | 6:41 PM | 11 hr 10 min | 6:05 PM · 54 min | 260° W |
| November | 7:07 AM | 5:04 PM | 9 hr 57 min | 4:24 PM · 58 min | 246° WSW |
| December | 7:37 AM | 4:55 PM | 9 hr 18 min | 4:12 PM · 1 hr 2 min | 240° 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 ~3 min per day in the fastest season. Clock times follow America · New York, including any daylight-saving change.
Full light and twilight schedule
Midnight to midnight
| Phase | Time |
|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 5:07 AM |
| Nautical dawn | 5:42 AM |
| Blue hour (morning) | 6:16 AM |
| Golden hour (morning) | 6:27 AM |
| Sunrise | 6:44 AM |
| Solar noon | 1:22 PM |
| Sunset | 8:00 PM |
| Golden hour (evening) | 7:24 PM |
| Blue hour (evening) | 8:17 PM |
| Nautical dusk | 9:02 PM |
| Astronomical dusk | 9:38 PM |
Seven local days in Pittsburgh
The week ahead
| Date | Morning golden | Sunrise | Sunset | Evening golden |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Aug 28 | 6:27 AM – 7:21 AM | 6:44 AM | 8:00 PM | 7:24 PM – 8:17 PM |
| Sat, Aug 29 | 6:28 AM – 7:22 AM | 6:45 AM | 7:59 PM | 7:22 PM – 8:16 PM |
| Sun, Aug 30 | 6:29 AM – 7:23 AM | 6:46 AM | 7:57 PM | 7:21 PM – 8:14 PM |
| Mon, Aug 31 | 6:30 AM – 7:24 AM | 6:47 AM | 7:56 PM | 7:19 PM – 8:13 PM |
| Tue, Sep 1 | 6:31 AM – 7:24 AM | 6:48 AM | 7:54 PM | 7:18 PM – 8:11 PM |
| Wed, Sep 2 | 6:32 AM – 7:25 AM | 6:49 AM | 7:52 PM | 7:16 PM – 8:09 PM |
| Thu, Sep 3 | 6:33 AM – 7:26 AM | 6:50 AM | 7:51 PM | 7:14 PM – 8:08 PM |
Moon and candidate vantage points
Context to verify
Moon on the selected date
The moon over Pittsburgh is a Full Moon, 100% lit. Treat this as lighting context, not a visibility forecast.
Candidate vantage points
Use them only as map-search leads; they are not ranked recommendations. We have not verified current access, closures, permits, safety, or an unobstructed view. 284° WNW is the selected-date mathematical sunset bearing; if another composition faces elsewhere, use the bearing planner in the month table above to locate better-matched sampled months. The number is a planning aid and does not prove visibility.
Plan and calculation notes
Assumptions and limits
Plan this specific light
In Pittsburgh, the evening golden hour window runs 54 min on the selected date and approaches from 284° 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 Pittsburgh
- When is golden hour in Pittsburgh?
- Twice a day on most dates: a morning window that contains sunrise and an evening window that contains sunset, defined by the sun sitting between +6° and −4° of the horizon. In Pittsburgh the representative monthly window is 53 minutes in March and 62 minutes in December. The light-windows panel above gives the exact start and end for any date.
- Which direction does the sun set in Pittsburgh?
- Roughly west, but the useful number changes with the season: 240° WSW in December versus 302° WNW in June in Pittsburgh. That 62° difference decides whether a street or shoreline actually faces the light on your date.
- How much does day length change in Pittsburgh?
- Pittsburgh's swing is 5 hr 45 min: December bottoms out around 9 hr 18 min of daylight while June peaks near 15 hr 3 min. Each month's numbers are in the table above.
- Does Pittsburgh get blue hour right after golden hour?
- Always — the two are one continuous descent of the sun. Gold runs while the sun sits between +6° and −4° of Pittsburgh's horizon; the instant it passes −4°, blue takes over until −6°. Stay in position after a December golden window (1 hr 2 min at its longest) and the blue phase arrives without you moving a step. Exact times for both are in the panel above.