The term itself came from the times when sailors used the stars to navigate at sea. The nautical twilight is the second phase when the horizon becomes challenging to distinguish. Try to catch the beginning of civil twilight in the evening and take some landscape pictures to reveal different shades of the skies. Right after sunset, the sky is very bright and full of rapid colors. Laws in many countries require turning on street lights and car headlights during this phase. The horizon should be well seen during this time, and only the brightest stars and planets are visible. It starts right before sunrise or after sunset when the Sun is just below the horizon. The civil twilight is the brightest phase most people refer to this type when talking about twilight. The time between astronomical twilight, when the Sun is 18° or further down below the horizon, is called the night. They follow each other and occur in the same order all over the Earth the twilight types vary depending on the Sun’s center position below the horizon: There are three types of twilight - civil, nautical, and astronomical.

We can see twilight because the Earth has an atmosphere where the light partially scatters and illuminates our planet even when the Sun is gone. Twilight is a time of the day when the Sun is below the horizon and not visible directly but partially illuminates the sky.

When is twilight? What types of twilight are there? What are “magic hours”? Check out our infographic to get answers to these questions.

Dusk to dawn meaning download