Date/Time Functions
PHP Manual

date_sun_info

(PHP 5 >= 5.1.2, PHP 7)

date_sun_infoReturns an array with information about sunset/sunrise and twilight begin/end

Description

array date_sun_info ( int $time , float $latitude , float $longitude )

Parameters

time

Timestamp.

latitude

Latitude in degrees.

longitude

Longitude in degrees.

Return Values

Returns array on success or FALSE on failure. The structure of the array is detailed in the following list:

sunrise
The time of the sunrise (zenith angle = 90°35').
sunset
The time of the sunset (zenith angle = 90°35').
transit
The time when the sun is at its zenith, i.e. has reached its topmost point.
civil_twilight_begin
The start of the civil dawn (zenith angle = 96°). It ends at sunrise.
civil_twilight_end
The end of the civil dusk (zenith angle = 96°). It starts at sunset.
nautical_twilight_begin
The start of the nautical dawn (zenith angle = 102°). It ends at civil_twilight_begin.
nautical_twilight_end
The end of the nautical dusk (zenith angle = 102°). It starts at civil_twilight_end.
astronomical_twilight_begin
The start of the astronomical dawn (zenith angle = 108°). It ends at nautical_twilight_begin.
astronomical_twilight_end
The end of the astronomical dusk (zenith angle = 108°). It starts at nautical_twilight_end.

The values of the array elements are either UNIX timestamps, FALSE if the sun is below the respective zenith for the whole day, or TRUE if the sun is above the respective zenith for the whole day.

Changelog

Version Description
5.2.2 The order of latitude and longitude has been swapped.

Examples

Example #1 A date_sun_info() example

<?php
$sun_info 
date_sun_info(strtotime("2006-12-12"), 31.766735.2333);
foreach (
$sun_info as $key => $val) {
    echo 
"$key: " date("H:i:s"$val) . "\n";
}
?>

The above example will output:

sunrise: 05:52:11
sunset: 15:41:21
transit: 10:46:46
civil_twilight_begin: 05:24:08
civil_twilight_end: 16:09:24
nautical_twilight_begin: 04:52:25
nautical_twilight_end: 16:41:06
astronomical_twilight_begin: 04:21:32
astronomical_twilight_end: 17:12:00

Example #2 Polar night

<?php
var_dump
(date_sun_info(strtotime("2017-12-21"), 900));
?>

The above example will output:

array(9) {
  ["sunrise"]=>
  bool(false)
  ["sunset"]=>
  bool(false)
  ["transit"]=>
  int(1513857490)
  ["civil_twilight_begin"]=>
  bool(false)
  ["civil_twilight_end"]=>
  bool(false)
  ["nautical_twilight_begin"]=>
  bool(false)
  ["nautical_twilight_end"]=>
  bool(false)
  ["astronomical_twilight_begin"]=>
  bool(false)
  ["astronomical_twilight_end"]=>
  bool(false)
}

Example #3 Midnight sun

<?php
var_dump
(date_sun_info(strtotime("2017-06-21"), 900));
?>

The above example will output:

array(9) {
  ["sunrise"]=>
  bool(true)
  ["sunset"]=>
  bool(true)
  ["transit"]=>
  int(1498046510)
  ["civil_twilight_begin"]=>
  bool(true)
  ["civil_twilight_end"]=>
  bool(true)
  ["nautical_twilight_begin"]=>
  bool(true)
  ["nautical_twilight_end"]=>
  bool(true)
  ["astronomical_twilight_begin"]=>
  bool(true)
  ["astronomical_twilight_end"]=>
  bool(true)
}

See Also


Date/Time Functions
PHP Manual