


However, between civil twilight and nautical twilight, we actually have civil dusk. This is when the Sun is between 6° and 12° below the horizon. Civil twilight is defined as the time when the Sun is between 0° and 6° below the horizon.Ĭivil twilight then procedes into nautical twilight, which is much darker and we can only make out silhouettes of objects around us. So, we start with civil twilight, which is a period of time where we can still see the objects around us clearly and the night is beginning to come in. These stages immediately follow the different stages of twilight. Like there are three different stages of twilight, there are also three different stages of dusk too.

This is the perfect time for astronomical observations, as you’ll be able to see the night sky without having to worry about the sunlight.īut actually, we also have evening civil twilight, astronomical twilight and nautical twilight too, which we consider to be different stages of dusk. As the Sun dips below the horizon, we enter into what’s called civil twilight. So we know that dusk doesn’t actually relate to an exact time, but rather to the Sun’s position in relevance to our view of the horizon. Dusk begins when the Sun descends beneath the horizon, and continues until it is around 18° below. The answer isn’t restricted to a specific time in the evening, however it depends on the actions of the Sun. So, I’m going to quickly explain to you what time we actually consider to be dusk, and how it’s different to other periods of time in the evening. It can be difficult to truly know what the difference between them is. There are a lot of different terms that are thrown around like dusk, dawn, twilight and many more. Many people out there get confused about what dusk actually is.
