Next usable light
5:43 PM – 6:35 PM
Solar noonDaytime40.5° · 180° S
San Jose, California · Sun, Oct 25
Evening golden hour · 5:43 PM – 6:35 PM
Weather, terrain, buildings, local access, and elevation are not included.
https://goldenhourly.pages.dev/san-jose-ca/?date=2026-10-25
Morning
Evening
Where to point the camera
On this selected date, the sun reaches 41° at its highest point and the evening light approaches from 255° WSW.
Pick the month before the day
December is the generous sample in San Jose — 59 min of golden light — while March tightens the window to about 50 min. The 60° seasonal walk of the sunset point (241° WSW in December, 301° WNW in June) matters more than the clock time for framing. Between December and June the day itself stretches from 9 hr 36 min to 14 hr 43 min, dragging every window with it.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Golden window sample | Sunset bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:21 AM | 5:14 PM | 9 hr 53 min | 4:34 PM · 57 min | 244° WSW |
| February | 6:58 AM | 5:48 PM | 10 hr 50 min | 5:11 PM · 53 min | 255° WSW |
| March | 7:19 AM | 7:15 PM | 11 hr 56 min | 6:41 PM · 50 min | 268° W |
| April | 6:33 AM | 7:43 PM | 13 hr 9 min | 7:08 PM · 51 min | 283° WNW |
| May | 6:00 AM | 8:10 PM | 14 hr 10 min | 7:33 PM · 55 min | 295° WNW |
| June | 5:47 AM | 8:31 PM | 14 hr 43 min | 7:52 PM · 58 min | 301° WNW |
| July | 5:59 AM | 8:29 PM | 14 hr 29 min | 7:51 PM · 56 min | 298° WNW |
| August | 6:25 AM | 8:01 PM | 13 hr 36 min | 7:25 PM · 53 min | 288° WNW |
| September | 6:50 AM | 7:17 PM | 12 hr 26 min | 6:43 PM · 50 min | 274° W |
| October | 7:16 AM | 6:32 PM | 11 hr 16 min | 5:56 PM · 51 min | 260° W |
| November | 6:48 AM | 4:58 PM | 10 hr 11 min | 4:20 PM · 55 min | 247° WSW |
| December | 7:15 AM | 4:52 PM | 9 hr 36 min | 4:11 PM · 59 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 America · Los Angeles, including any daylight-saving change.
| Phase | Time |
|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 5:58 AM |
| Nautical dawn | 6:29 AM |
| Blue hour (morning) | 6:59 AM |
| Golden hour (morning) | 7:09 AM |
| Sunrise | 7:26 AM |
| Solar noon | 12:52 PM |
| Sunset | 6:19 PM |
| Golden hour (evening) | 5:43 PM |
| Blue hour (evening) | 6:35 PM |
| Nautical dusk | 7:16 PM |
| Astronomical dusk | 7:46 PM |
| Date | Morning golden | Sunrise | Sunset | Evening golden |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Oct 25 | 7:09 AM – 8:02 AM | 7:26 AM | 6:19 PM | 5:43 PM – 6:35 PM |
| Mon, Oct 26 | 7:10 AM – 8:03 AM | 7:27 AM | 6:18 PM | 5:41 PM – 6:34 PM |
| Tue, Oct 27 | 7:11 AM – 8:04 AM | 7:28 AM | 6:16 PM | 5:40 PM – 6:33 PM |
| Wed, Oct 28 | 7:12 AM – 8:05 AM | 7:29 AM | 6:15 PM | 5:39 PM – 6:32 PM |
| Thu, Oct 29 | 7:13 AM – 8:06 AM | 7:30 AM | 6:14 PM | 5:38 PM – 6:31 PM |
| Fri, Oct 30 | 7:14 AM – 8:07 AM | 7:31 AM | 6:13 PM | 5:36 PM – 6:30 PM |
| Sat, Oct 31 | 7:15 AM – 8:08 AM | 7:32 AM | 6:12 PM | 5:35 PM – 6:28 PM |
The moon over San Jose is a Full Moon, 100% lit. Treat this as lighting context, not a visibility forecast.
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 255° WSW. 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.
In San Jose, the evening golden hour window runs 52 min on the selected date and approaches from 255° WSW. 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