Sunrise & sunset times in Ottawa
Sunrise in Ottawa today is at 07:02 and sunset is at 18:41, giving 11h 39m of daylight (times for Thursday, 1 October 2026, in Ottawa's local time zone). Evening golden hour runs 18:01 to 18:41. The moon is a waning gibbous at 67% illumination.
Live sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, golden hour, blue hour and moon times for Ottawa, Canada. Pick any date to see the light for that day in local time.
On the 2026 June solstice the sun rises at 05:14 and sets at 20:54 in Ottawa (15h 41m of daylight). On the December solstice it rises at 07:39 and sets at 16:22 (8h 43m).
| Event | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:05 | 19:15 | 12h 10m |
| June solstice | 05:14 | 20:54 | 15h 41m |
| September equinox | 06:49 | 19:00 | 12h 10m |
| December solstice | 07:39 | 16:22 | 8h 43m |
Full sun timeline for Ottawa
Civil dawn, when the sky starts to brighten before sunrise.
The moment the top edge of the sun appears on the horizon.
End of the soft, warm morning light photographers love.
The sun reaches its highest point in the sky for the day.
Start of the warm, low evening light before sunset.
The moment the sun dips fully below the horizon.
Civil dusk, when the last usable daylight fades.
Golden hour and blue hour in Ottawa
The best windows for warm and cool natural light on this date.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 07:38 | 16:45 | 9h 7m |
| February | 07:04 | 17:29 | 10h 25m |
| March | 07:15 | 19:08 | 11h 53m |
| April | 06:17 | 19:48 | 13h 31m |
| May | 05:32 | 20:26 | 14h 54m |
| June | 05:13 | 20:53 | 15h 39m |
| July | 05:28 | 20:48 | 15h 19m |
| August | 06:03 | 20:10 | 14h 7m |
| September | 06:41 | 19:14 | 12h 33m |
| October | 07:19 | 18:17 | 10h 58m |
| November | 07:01 | 16:32 | 9h 31m |
| December | 07:35 | 16:20 | 8h 44m |
Sun and moon in Ottawa
Whether you are planning a sunrise photo walk or timing an evening run, the daily sun and moon schedule for Ottawa is easy to check here. This page shows live sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, morning and evening golden hour, blue hour, dawn and dusk, plus the current moon phase and the moonrise and moonset times for Ottawa. Every value is calculated in the browser for the date you pick and shown in the local time of Ottawa, Canada. Ottawa sits at roughly 45.42 degrees north, in the northern hemisphere, so it sees a clear but moderate seasonal swing, with noticeably longer days in summer and cosier, earlier sunsets in winter. Because the length of the day changes with the seasons, the exact sunrise and sunset in Ottawa shift from week to week. Pick any date with the date picker to see how the light will fall on a specific day, which is handy for planning a shoot, an event, a wedding, a flight or simply the best moment to catch the last warm light of the evening. Golden hour, that soft warm window near sunrise and sunset, is the favourite of photographers in Ottawa. Blue hour, the cooler stretch just before sunrise and just after sunset, is ideal for cityscapes and long exposures. Combined with the moon phase and moon times, this gives you a complete picture of natural light over Ottawa, Canada for any day of the year.
What time is sunset in Ottawa today?
The sun sets in Ottawa at 18:41 (just after midnight) today, Thursday, 1 October 2026, in Ottawa's own local time. The warm light starts well before that: evening golden hour opens at 18:01, giving 39 minutes of low golden light before the sun reaches the horizon. Sunset is not the end of the light either. Last light, the moment usable daylight ends at civil dusk, follows 29 minutes later at 19:10, and the sky is properly dark at 20:19, 1h 38m after sunset.
Tomorrow the sun sets at 18:41 in Ottawa. That is 1 minute 54 seconds earlier than today. Over the coming week sunset moves 13 minutes 5 seconds earlier.
Planning around the light? See golden hour in Ottawa.
Is the day getting longer or shorter in Ottawa right now?
Ottawa gets 11h 42m of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset. Tomorrow will be 3 minutes 9 seconds shorter. Over the next seven days Ottawa loses 21 minutes 59 seconds of daylight.
That pace is not constant. In Ottawa the day length changes fastest around March, near the equinox, when it moves by about 3 minutes 12 seconds per day, and it slows almost to a stop at the solstices in June and December. The word solstice means exactly that: the sun standing still.
When are the earliest and latest sunrise and sunset in Ottawa?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Ottawa falls on 9 December at 16:19, 12 days before the December solstice, and the latest on 26 June at 20:55.
Sunrise runs on its own schedule: earliest on 15 June at 05:13, latest on 2 January at 07:42, 12 days after the December solstice. The four dates in the table below do not line up with the solstices, and they are not supposed to. Earth's orbit is slightly elliptical and its axis is tilted, so the sun runs a few minutes fast or slow against clock time through the year. That offset, the equation of time, is what pushes the earliest sunset ahead of the shortest day and the latest sunrise behind it.
| Extreme | Date | Local time | Why then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earliest sunrise | 15 Jun 2026 | 05:13 | 6 days before the June solstice |
| Latest sunrise | 2 Jan 2026 | 07:42 | 12 days after the December solstice |
| Earliest sunset | 9 Dec 2026 | 16:19 | 12 days before the December solstice |
| Latest sunset | 26 Jun 2026 | 20:55 | 5 days after the June solstice |
These are wall-clock times, so Ottawa's daylight saving change is part of the picture: an hour moved by the clocks counts the same as an hour moved by the Earth.
For the longest and shortest day themselves, see day length in Ottawa.
How long does twilight last in Ottawa?
First light in Ottawa arrives 29 minutes before sunrise today, at 06:32. After sunset the light hangs on for another 29 minutes, until 19:10. That evening stretch is not the same all year in Ottawa: it runs from 29 minutes at its shortest, in September, to 38 minutes at its longest, in June. The lower the angle at which the sun crosses the horizon, the longer twilight lasts, which is why dusk is a slow affair at high latitudes and abrupt near the equator.
Full three-band twilight tables: dawn in Ottawa and dusk in Ottawa.
How high does the sun get in Ottawa?
At midday on the June solstice the sun stands 68.0 degrees above the horizon in Ottawa. On the December solstice it climbs only 21.2 degrees. A midday sun that low throws a shadow about 2.6 times the height of whatever casts it, so even at noon in midwinter the shadows in Ottawa are long ones.
Frequently asked questions about Ottawa
What time is sunrise in Ottawa today?
The sun rises in Ottawa, Canada at 07:02 on Thursday, 1 October 2026, and sets at 18:41. Use the date picker above to check sunrise for any other day. All times are given in the local time zone of Ottawa.
When is golden hour in Ottawa?
Ottawa has two golden hours each day. On Thursday, 1 October 2026 the morning window runs from 07:02 to 07:41, and the evening window from 18:01 to 18:41, all in local time. Pick another date above to plan a shoot down to the minute.
Why do sunrise and sunset change through the year in Ottawa?
Because Ottawa lies in the northern hemisphere, its days are longest around June and shortest around December. In Ottawa the longer solstice day runs about 15h 41m and the shorter one about 8h 43m, as shown in the table above. As Earth orbits the Sun, the point on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets moves, which lengthens or shortens the day and shifts sunrise and sunset times.
Are the times for Ottawa accurate?
Yes. Times are computed with the well established SunCalc astronomy library using the coordinates of Ottawa and shown in its local time zone. They are accurate to about a minute for a clear, flat horizon. Hills, tall buildings and atmospheric conditions can shift the moment you actually see the Sun by a few minutes.
Does this page show the moon phase for Ottawa?
Yes. The current moon phase, the percentage of the Moon that is lit, and the moonrise and moonset times for Ottawa are all shown for the selected date, so you can plan around a full moon or a dark new moon sky.
How much daylight does Ottawa gain or lose each day?
Ottawa has 11h 42m of daylight on Thursday, 1 October 2026 and is losing daylight: 21 minutes 59 seconds over the following seven days, with tomorrow 3 minutes 9 seconds shorter than today. The daily change is at its largest near the March and September equinoxes and almost stops at the June and December solstices.
When is the earliest sunset in Ottawa?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Ottawa is on 9 December at 16:19, 12 days before the December solstice. The earliest sunset and the shortest day are not the same date, because the sun runs a few minutes fast or slow against clock time through the year, an effect called the equation of time.
How long does it stay light after sunset in Ottawa?
About 29 minutes on Thursday, 1 October 2026. The sun sets at 18:41 and usable daylight ends at civil dusk, 19:10, with full astronomical darkness at 20:19. The higher the latitude, the longer that fade takes.
Data and methodology: every time on this page is computed from Ottawa's coordinates with SunCalc, an open source astronomy library, not estimated or looked up from a table. Coordinates 45.42, -75.70, time zone America/Toronto. Accurate to about a minute for a flat, unobstructed horizon; terrain, tall buildings and atmospheric conditions can shift the moment the sun is actually visible by a few minutes. Full method on methodology.
Nearby cities
Sun and moon times for places close to Ottawa. Sunrise and sunset shift as you move east, west, north or south.
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Plain-English guides to the moments that shape the day in Ottawa and everywhere else.
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