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Twilight

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For other uses, see Twilight (disambiguation).
"Civil twilight" redirects here. For other uses, see Civil twilight (disambiguation).
Twilight is the time between dawn and sunrise, or between sunset and dusk.
Twilight at Baker Beach.

Twilight is the illumination that is produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, illuminating the lower atmosphere when the Sun itself is not directly visible because it is below the horizon, so that the surface of the Earth is neither completely lit nor completely dark. The word "twilight" is also used to denote the periods of time when this illumination occurs.[1]

The further the Sun is below the horizon, the dimmer the twilight (other things such as atmospheric conditions being equal). When the Sun reaches 18 degrees below the horizon, twilight's brightness is nearly zero. Evening twilight ends and night begins. When the Sun again reaches 18 degrees below the horizon, night ends and morning twilight begins. Owing to its distinctive quality, primarily the absence of shadows and the appearance of objects silhouetted against the bright sky, twilight has long been popular with photographers, who refer to it as Sweet Light, and painters, who refer to it as the blue hour, after the French expression l'heure bleue.

By analogy with evening twilight, the word "twilight" is also sometimes used metaphorically, to imply that something is losing strength and approaching its end. For example, a very old man may be said to be in the twilight of his life. The collateral adjective for twilight is crepuscular; it is most frequently encountered when applied to certain insects, fishes, and mammals that are most active during that time.

Definitions

Civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight. The Sun is shown to scale.[2]

Twilight is defined according to the solar elevation angle θs, which is the position of the geometric center of the sun relative to the horizon. There are three established and widely accepted subcategories of twilight: civil twilight (brightest), nautical twilight, and astronomical twilight (darkest).[1]

Civil twilight

Morning civil twilight begins when the geometric center of the sun is 6° below the horizon (civil dawn) and ends at sunrise. Evening civil twilight begins at sunset and ends when the geometric center of the sun reaches 6° below the horizon (civil dusk). The brightest planets can appear during this time. Venus, the brightest planet as observed from the Earth (see Apparent magnitude), is known as the "morning star" or "evening star" due to its visibility during civil twilight. There is enough light from the sun during this period that artificial sources of light may not be needed to carry on outdoor activities. This concept is sometimes enshrined in laws, for example, when drivers of automobiles must turn on their headlights (called lighting-up time in the UK); when pilots may exercise the rights to fly aircraft; restrictions on hunting; or if the crime of burglary is to be treated as nighttime burglary, which carries stiffer penalties in some jurisdictions. A fixed period (most commonly 30 minutes after sunset or before sunrise) is typically used in such statutes, rather than how many degrees the sun is below the horizon. Civil twilight can also be described as the limit at which twilight illumination is sufficient, under clear weather conditions, for terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished; at the beginning of morning civil twilight, or end of evening civil twilight, the horizon is clearly defined and the brightest stars are visible under clear atmospheric conditions. The military initialisms BMCT (begin morning civil twilight, i.e. civil dawn) and EECT (end evening civil twilight, i.e. civil dusk) are used to refer to these periods.

Nautical twilight

During nautical twilight, the horizon is clearly visible, but artificial lighting must be used to see terrestrial objects clearly.

Nautical twilight is the time when the center of the sun is between 6° and 12° below the horizon. In general, nautical twilight ends when navigation via the horizon at sea is no longer possible.[2]

During nautical twilight, sailors can take reliable star sightings of well-known stars, using a visible horizon for reference. The end of this period in the evening, or its beginning in the morning, is also the time at which traces of illumination near the sunset or sunrise point of the horizon are very difficult, if not impossible, to discern (this often being referred to as "first light" before civil dawn and "nightfall" after civil dusk). At the beginning of nautical twilight in the morning (nautical dawn), or at the end of nautical twilight in the evening (nautical dusk), and under good atmospheric conditions with the absence of other illumination, general outlines of ground objects may be distinguishable; but detailed outdoor operations are not possible, and the horizon is indistinct.

Nautical twilight has military considerations as well. The initialisms BMNT (begin morning nautical twilight, i.e. nautical dawn) and EENT (end evening nautical twilight, i.e. nautical dusk) are used and considered when planning military operations. A military unit may treat BMNT and EENT with heightened security, e.g. by "standing to", in which everyone assumes a defensive position. This is partially due to tactics dating back to the French and Indian War (part of the Seven Years' War of 1756–1763), when combatants on both sides would launch attacks at nautical dawn or dusk.

Astronomical twilight

Astronomical twilight is the time when the center of the sun is between 12° and 18° below the horizon. From the end of astronomical twilight in the evening to the beginning of astronomical twilight in the morning, the sky (away from urban light pollution) is dark enough for all astronomical observations.

Most casual observers would consider the entire sky fully dark even when astronomical twilight is just beginning in the evening or just ending in the morning, and astronomers can easily make observations of point sources such as stars, but faint diffuse items such as nebulae and galaxies can be properly observed only beyond the limit of astronomical twilight. In some places, especially those with sky glow, astronomical twilight may be almost indistinguishable from night. Theoretically, the dimmest stars ever visible to the naked eye (those of the sixth magnitude), will become visible in the evening once the sun falls more than 18° below the horizon (i.e., at astronomical dusk), and become invisible when the sun moves to within 18° of the horizon in the morning (at astronomical dawn). However, because of light pollution, some localities, generally those in large cities, may never have the opportunity to view even fourth-magnitude stars, irrespective of the presence of any twilight at all.[1]

Times of occurrence

Twilight between day and night

The most familiar occurrences of twilight are between dawn and sunrise and between sunset and dusk each day. These occur for observers at latitudes within 48.5 degrees of the Equator on all dates of the year, and also for most observers at higher latitudes on many dates. However, at latitudes closer than 9 degrees to either Pole, the Sun cannot rise above the horizon and go more than 18 degrees below it on the same day on any date, so this type of twilight cannot occur.

Twilight lasting from one day to the next

At latitudes greater than about 48.5 degrees North or South, on dates near the summer solstice, twilight can last from sunset to sunrise, since the Sun does not go more than 18 degrees below the horizon, so complete darkness does not occur even at midnight. These latitudes include many densely populated regions of the Earth, including the entire United Kingdom and other countries in northern Europe.

Twilight between one night and the next, or for 24 hours

In Arctic and Antarctic latitudes in wintertime, the polar night only rarely produces complete darkness for 24 hours each day. This can occur only at locations within 5.5 degrees of latitude of the Pole, and there only on dates very close to the winter solstice. At all other latitudes and dates, the polar night includes a daily period of twilight, when the Sun is not far below the horizon. This period may be any fraction of the day. It may be brief, around noon, or it can last for the entire 24 hours.

Length

The number of daylight hours depends on the latitude and time of year. Each pole has continuous daylight near its summer solstice.
Sunshine N70 E10
Sunshine N50 E10
Sunshine N0 E10

The length of twilight after sunset and before sunrise is heavily influenced by the latitude of the observer. In the Arctic and Antarctic regions, twilight (if there is any) can last for several hours. There is no astronomical twilight at the poles near the winter solstice (for about 74 days at the North Pole and about 80 days at the South Pole). At the poles, civil twilight can be as long as 2–3 weeks, while at the equator, conditions can go from day to night in as little as 20–25 minutes. This is true because at low latitudes the sun's apparent movement is perpendicular to the observer's horizon. As one gets closer to the Arctic and Antarctic circles, the sun's disk moves toward the observer's horizon at a lower angle. The observer's earthly location will pass through the various twilight zones less directly, taking more time.

Within the polar circles, twenty-four hour daylight is encountered in summer, and in regions very close to the poles, twilight can last for weeks on the winter side of the equinoxes. Outside the polar circles, where the angular distance from the polar circle is less than the angle which defines twilight (see above), twilight can continue through local midnight near the summer solstice. The precise position of the polar circles, and the regions where twilight can continue through local midnight, varies slightly from year to year with Earth's axial tilt. The lowest latitudes at which the various twilights can continue through local midnight are approximately 60.561° (60°33′43″) for civil twilight, 54.561° (54°33′43″) for nautical twilight and 48.561° (48°33′43″) for astronomical twilight.[3][4]

These are the largest cities, of their respective countries, where the various twilights can continue through local solar midnight:

Although Helsinki, Oslo, Stockholm, Tallinn and Saint Petersburg do not actually receive civil twilight from sunset to sunrise, they do have noticeably lighter skies at night (known as white nights) around the summer solstice.

At the winter solstice within the polar circle, twilight can extend through solar noon at latitudes below 72.561° (72°33′43″) for civil twilight, 78.561° (78°33′43″) for nautical twilight, and 84.561° (84°33′43″) for astronomical twilight.

On other planets

Twilight on Mars is longer than on Earth, lasting for up to two hours before sunrise or after sunset. Dust high in the atmosphere scatters light to the night side of the planet. Similar twilights are seen on Earth following major volcanic eruptions.[5]

In religion

Hinduism

Twilight is sacred in Hinduism. It is called गोधूळिवेळ in Marathi or गोधूलिवेला godhūlivelā in Hindi—literally "cow dust time". Many rituals including Sandhyavandanam and Puja are performed at twilight.[6]

Islam

Twilight is important in Islam as it determines when certain universally obligatory prayers are to be recited. Morning twilight is when morning prayers (Fajr) are done, while evening twilight is the time for evening prayers (Maghrib). In the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims are supposed to fast between morning and evening twilight, when they break it with the iftar.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Definitions from the US Astronomical Applications Dept (USNO)". Retrieved 2011-07-22.
  2. ^ a b Van Flandern, T. (1980). "Low precision formulae for planetary positions". Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series. 31 (3). Bibcode:1979ApJS...41..391V. doi:10.1086/190623. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Length of Day and Twilight (Formulas)". www.gandraxa.com. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
  4. ^ Herbert Glarner's website, reference 2. "Civil Twilight" "6°", "Nautical Twilight" "12°". "90°-Axis(23.439°)-12°=54.561°.
  5. ^ NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Winter Solstice on Mars: Rovers Look Forward to A Birtha Williams Sanford Crisanthemum Barbra Layota Martian Spring, August 07, 2006.
  6. ^ Jossleyn Hennessy (1955). "ch. VII Education in the villages "Cow-dust time"". India democracy and education. Orient Longmans. p. 127.

Further reading

Wikiquote has quotations related to Twilight.
Look up twilight in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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