Natural Time

Natural Time Overview

Day of week------

Sun Cycle

Phase of Day----
Today
Sunrise--
Sunset--
Daylight----
Current Sun direction:--
Current Sun angle:--
Highest Sun angle today:--

Moon Cycle

Moon Phase----
Today
Moonrise--
Moonset--
Moon above horizon--Time above horizon today
Current Moon direction:--
Current Moon angle:--
Next full moon:--
Phase of Day
Morning Afternoon Night Late Night
Sun position
Moon position
Moonrise Highest Moonset Lowest

My Location

Not specified, Not specified Not specified, Not specified

Local Weather

Detecting area... --° F --
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Today's High: 64° F Low: 53° F Temp Category: Mild Humidity: --
Todays average:--
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Month average:--
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Year average:--
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Elevation:--
Distance to coast:--
Climate type: --
Landscape type: --
Monthly rainfall:--
Yearly rainfall:--
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Monthly snowfall:--
Yearly snowfall:--
Category:--
Wind:--
Wind speed:--
Pressure:-- / --

Traffic

Loading traffic phase

Estimated daily traffic intensity by time of day. Green is low traffic, yellow is medium traffic, and red is high traffic.

Late night12am-5am
Early commute5am-7am
Morning rush7am-9am
Late morning9am-11am
Midday11am-3pm
Build-up3pm-4pm
Evening rush4pm-7pm
Evening7pm-9pm
Night9pm-12am
12a 3a 6a 8a 10a 12p 3p 5p 7p 10p
Low Medium High

Day/Night Cycle

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Day and Night Phases

Current Phase --

Sun Angle

Current Sun Angle--
Current Sun Position--
Today's Highest Sun Angle--
Current Solar Declination--
Day Length--
Season--
Day length--
Latitude--

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Current Meal:--

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Current Drink:--

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NATURAL TIME FOUNDATIONS

Day Information

What “day” means in the sky and on a clock.

The Sun's Daily Cycle

From a location on Earth, the Sun appears to cross the sky each day. Daylight runs from sunrise to sunset. Twilight and night occur while the Sun is below the horizon. Near the poles, the Sun may not rise or set on a given date.

Sunrise→Sunset→Sunrise

The 24-Hour Clock

  • 1 standard day = 24 hours
  • 1 hour = 60 minutes
  • 1 minute = 60 seconds

Clock time uses an average solar day. Sunrise-to-sunrise and solar-noon-to-solar-noon intervals are not always exactly 24 hours.

Three Meanings of “Day”

24-hour period: a fixed duration. Calendar day: one dated day, usually midnight to midnight in a local time zone. Daylight: the hours between sunrise and sunset.

The Sun gives us the natural day cycle. Moon phases inspire lunar months, but calendar months do not all follow the Moon.

Smaller Than a Second

  • 1 second = 1,000 milliseconds (ms)
  • 1 second = 1,000,000 microseconds (µs)
  • 1 second = 1,000,000,000 nanoseconds (ns)

Each step is 1,000 times smaller than the one above it.

Definitions: NIST on solar days and U.S. Naval Observatory on sunrise and sunset.

Egyptian Calendar

Day Hours And Night Hours

Ancient Egyptian time was not the same as a modern 24-hour clock. The daylight part of the day was divided into 12 day hours, and the night was divided into 12 night hours.

12Day hoursSunrise to sunset
12Night hoursSunset to sunrise

Seasonal Length

Because daylight changes through the year, Egyptian daylight hours were longer in summer and shorter in winter. Night hours changed in the opposite direction.

How It Was Divided

The system used equal divisions of daylight and darkness, rather than fixed 60-minute hours. A summer day hour could be longer than a winter day hour.

How It Was Measured

Egyptians used shadow clocks and sundials for daylight, and water clocks plus star groups called decans for night timing.

Calendar Structure

The civil calendar had 12 months of 30 days, plus 5 extra festival days, creating a 365-day year organized around seasons and the Nile cycle.