Golden hour in Wellington, New Zealand today
Evening golden hour in Wellington, New Zealand runs 5:12 pm – 6:07 pm today, Wednesday 26 August — that is 55m of usable low light before blue hour takes over.
This evening
- Golden hour
- 5:12 pm – 6:07 pm
- Duration
- 55m
- Sunset
- 5:50 pm
- Blue hour
- 6:07 pm – 6:18 pm
- Sunset direction
- 283° (WNW)
11h 29m until sunset
This morning
- Golden hour
- 6:38 am – 7:33 am
- Duration
- 55m
- Sunrise
- 6:55 am
- Blue hour
- 6:27 am – 6:38 am
- Sunrise direction
- 77° (ENE)
Conditions tonight
The next seven days
| Date | Golden hour starts | Golden hour ends | Duration | Blue hour | Sunset | Sunset direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 26 Aug | 5:12 pm | 6:07 pm | 55m | 6:07 pm – 6:18 pm | 5:50 pm | 283° WNW |
| Thu 27 Aug | 5:13 pm | 6:08 pm | 55m | 6:08 pm – 6:19 pm | 5:51 pm | 283° WNW |
| Fri 28 Aug | 5:14 pm | 6:09 pm | 54m | 6:09 pm – 6:20 pm | 5:52 pm | 282° WNW |
| Sat 29 Aug | 5:15 pm | 6:10 pm | 54m | 6:10 pm – 6:21 pm | 5:53 pm | 282° WNW |
| Sun 30 Aug | 5:16 pm | 6:11 pm | 54m | 6:11 pm – 6:22 pm | 5:54 pm | 281° W |
| Mon 31 Aug | 5:17 pm | 6:12 pm | 54m | 6:12 pm – 6:23 pm | 5:55 pm | 281° W |
| Tue 1 Sep | 5:18 pm | 6:13 pm | 54m | 6:13 pm – 6:24 pm | 5:56 pm | 280° W |
Golden hour in August 2026
| Date | Starts | Ends | Duration | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 4:44 pm | 5:44 pm | 59m | 5:25 pm |
| Sun 2 | 4:46 pm | 5:44 pm | 58m | 5:26 pm |
| Mon 3 | 4:47 pm | 5:45 pm | 58m | 5:27 pm |
| Tue 4 | 4:48 pm | 5:46 pm | 58m | 5:28 pm |
| Wed 5 | 4:49 pm | 5:47 pm | 58m | 5:29 pm |
| Thu 6 | 4:50 pm | 5:48 pm | 58m | 5:30 pm |
| Fri 7 | 4:51 pm | 5:49 pm | 58m | 5:31 pm |
| Sat 8 | 4:52 pm | 5:50 pm | 57m | 5:32 pm |
| Sun 9 | 4:53 pm | 5:51 pm | 57m | 5:33 pm |
| Mon 10 | 4:54 pm | 5:52 pm | 57m | 5:34 pm |
| Tue 11 | 4:55 pm | 5:53 pm | 57m | 5:35 pm |
| Wed 12 | 4:57 pm | 5:54 pm | 57m | 5:36 pm |
| Thu 13 | 4:58 pm | 5:55 pm | 57m | 5:37 pm |
| Fri 14 | 4:59 pm | 5:56 pm | 56m | 5:38 pm |
| Sat 15 | 5:00 pm | 5:57 pm | 56m | 5:39 pm |
| Sun 16 | 5:01 pm | 5:58 pm | 56m | 5:40 pm |
| Mon 17 | 5:02 pm | 5:58 pm | 56m | 5:41 pm |
| Tue 18 | 5:03 pm | 5:59 pm | 56m | 5:42 pm |
| Wed 19 | 5:04 pm | 6:00 pm | 56m | 5:43 pm |
| Thu 20 | 5:05 pm | 6:01 pm | 55m | 5:44 pm |
| Fri 21 | 5:06 pm | 6:02 pm | 55m | 5:45 pm |
| Sat 22 | 5:08 pm | 6:03 pm | 55m | 5:46 pm |
| Sun 23 | 5:09 pm | 6:04 pm | 55m | 5:47 pm |
| Mon 24 | 5:10 pm | 6:05 pm | 55m | 5:48 pm |
| Tue 25 | 5:11 pm | 6:06 pm | 55m | 5:49 pm |
| Wed 26 | 5:12 pm | 6:07 pm | 55m | 5:50 pm |
| Thu 27 | 5:13 pm | 6:08 pm | 55m | 5:51 pm |
| Fri 28 | 5:14 pm | 6:09 pm | 54m | 5:52 pm |
| Sat 29 | 5:15 pm | 6:10 pm | 54m | 5:53 pm |
| Sun 30 | 5:16 pm | 6:11 pm | 54m | 5:54 pm |
| Mon 31 | 5:17 pm | 6:12 pm | 54m | 5:55 pm |
How much golden light each month gives you
What the numbers mean for Wellington
Through August the evening window averages about 57 minutes a day here.
June is the most generous month at roughly 63 minutes an evening, and March the tightest at about 53 minutes — a difference of 1.2×. That gap is geometry, not weather: the shallower the sun meets the horizon, the longer it spends crossing the golden band.
A month from now the evening window will be about 2 minutes shorter than tonight, and it will start at 5:43 pm.
The light comes from west-northwest tonight, at 283° on the compass. Check that against your viewpoint before committing to it — the bearing moves through the year, as the table above shows.
What counts as golden hour
Golden hour is defined here by the sun’s altitude, not by a fixed number of minutes. It runs while the sun sits between +6° and −4° relative to the horizon: high enough to still light the scene, low enough that the light has travelled through a long path of atmosphere and lost its blue.
Below −4° the direct light is gone and blue hour takes over, running to −6° where civil twilight ends. Because the definition is angular, the length of golden hour depends on how steeply the sun meets the horizon — which is a function of latitude and season, not of the clock. That is why it lasts 55m here today and about 41 minutes at the equator.
Full definitions of every term used here — golden hour, blue hour, altitude, azimuth — are in the glossary.