December 2026 Sunrise & Sunset Today in Central, United States 🇺🇸
Sun Phase: Daylight
Sunrise Today: 06:18 ↑ 66.6° ENE
Sunset Today: 20:02 ↑ 293.3° WNW
Day Length: 13h 44m
Sun Direction: SW
Sun Altitude: 72.36°
Sun Distance: 151.938 million km
Next Equinox: Tuesday, September 22, 2026 (September Equinox)
When Is Sunrise & Sunset in Central?
December 2026 Sunrise & Sunset Times in Central
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| Day | Sunrise/Sunset | Daylight | Astronomical Twilight | Nautical Twilight | Civil Twilight | Solar Noon | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise | Sunset | Length | Diff. | Start | End | Start | End | Start | End | Time | Sun Dist. (Mil km) | |
| 1 |
06:43
↑
115° ESE
|
17:02
↑
245° WSW
|
10h 18m | -0m 51s | 05:18 | 18:27 | 05:47 | 17:58 | 06:17 | 17:29 | 11:52 | 147.52 |
| 2 |
06:44
↑
115° ESE
|
17:02
↑
245° WSW
|
10h 17m | -0m 49s | 05:19 | 18:27 | 05:48 | 17:58 | 06:17 | 17:29 | 11:53 | 147.50 |
| 3 |
06:45
↑
115° ESE
|
17:02
↑
244° WSW
|
10h 16m | -0m 47s | 05:19 | 18:27 | 05:49 | 17:58 | 06:18 | 17:29 | 11:53 | 147.48 |
| 4 |
06:46
↑
116° ESE
|
17:02
↑
244° WSW
|
10h 16m | -0m 44s | 05:20 | 18:28 | 05:49 | 17:58 | 06:19 | 17:29 | 11:54 | 147.46 |
| 5 |
06:47
↑
116° ESE
|
17:02
↑
244° WSW
|
10h 15m | -0m 42s | 05:21 | 18:28 | 05:50 | 17:59 | 06:20 | 17:29 | 11:54 | 147.43 |
| 6 |
06:47
↑
116° ESE
|
17:02
↑
244° WSW
|
10h 14m | -0m 40s | 05:22 | 18:28 | 05:51 | 17:59 | 06:20 | 17:29 | 11:54 | 147.41 |
| 7 |
06:48
↑
116° ESE
|
17:02
↑
244° WSW
|
10h 14m | -0m 37s | 05:22 | 18:28 | 05:51 | 17:59 | 06:21 | 17:29 | 11:55 | 147.39 |
| 8 |
06:49
↑
116° ESE
|
17:02
↑
244° WSW
|
10h 13m | -0m 35s | 05:23 | 18:28 | 05:52 | 17:59 | 06:22 | 17:29 | 11:55 | 147.37 |
| 9 |
06:50
↑
116° ESE
|
17:03
↑
244° WSW
|
10h 13m | -0m 32s | 05:24 | 18:29 | 05:53 | 17:59 | 06:23 | 17:30 | 11:56 | 147.35 |
| 10 |
06:50
↑
116° ESE
|
17:03
↑
244° WSW
|
10h 12m | -0m 30s | 05:24 | 18:29 | 05:53 | 18:00 | 06:23 | 17:30 | 11:56 | 147.34 |
| 11 |
06:51
↑
116° ESE
|
17:03
↑
244° WSW
|
10h 12m | -0m 27s | 05:25 | 18:29 | 05:54 | 18:00 | 06:24 | 17:30 | 11:57 | 147.32 |
| 12 |
06:52
↑
117° ESE
|
17:03
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 11m | -0m 25s | 05:25 | 18:29 | 05:55 | 18:00 | 06:25 | 17:30 | 11:57 | 147.30 |
| 13 |
06:52
↑
117° ESE
|
17:04
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 11m | -0m 22s | 05:26 | 18:30 | 05:55 | 18:00 | 06:25 | 17:31 | 11:58 | 147.28 |
| 14 |
06:53
↑
117° ESE
|
17:04
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 10m | -0m 20s | 05:27 | 18:30 | 05:56 | 18:01 | 06:26 | 17:31 | 11:58 | 147.27 |
| 15 |
06:54
↑
117° ESE
|
17:04
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 10m | -0m 17s | 05:27 | 18:31 | 05:57 | 18:01 | 06:27 | 17:31 | 11:59 | 147.25 |
| 16 |
06:54
↑
117° ESE
|
17:05
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 10m | -0m 14s | 05:28 | 18:31 | 05:57 | 18:02 | 06:27 | 17:32 | 11:59 | 147.23 |
| 17 |
06:55
↑
117° ESE
|
17:05
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 10m | -0m 12s | 05:28 | 18:31 | 05:58 | 18:02 | 06:28 | 17:32 | 12:00 | 147.22 |
| 18 |
06:55
↑
117° ESE
|
17:05
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 10m | -0m 09s | 05:29 | 18:32 | 05:58 | 18:02 | 06:28 | 17:32 | 12:00 | 147.21 |
| 19 |
06:56
↑
117° ESE
|
17:06
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 09m | -0m 06s | 05:30 | 18:32 | 05:59 | 18:03 | 06:29 | 17:33 | 12:01 | 147.19 |
| 20 |
06:56
↑
117° ESE
|
17:06
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 09m | -0m 04s | 05:30 | 18:33 | 05:59 | 18:03 | 06:29 | 17:33 | 12:01 | 147.18 |
| 21 |
06:57
↑
117° ESE
|
17:07
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 09m | -0m 01s | 05:31 | 18:33 | 06:00 | 18:04 | 06:30 | 17:34 | 12:01 | 147.17 |
| 22 |
06:57
↑
117° ESE
|
17:07
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 09m | +0m 01s | 05:31 | 18:34 | 06:00 | 18:04 | 06:30 | 17:34 | 12:02 | 147.16 |
| 23 |
06:58
↑
117° ESE
|
17:08
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 09m | +0m 03s | 05:32 | 18:34 | 06:01 | 18:05 | 06:31 | 17:35 | 12:02 | 147.15 |
| 24 |
06:58
↑
117° ESE
|
17:08
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 10m | +0m 06s | 05:32 | 18:35 | 06:01 | 18:05 | 06:31 | 17:35 | 12:03 | 147.14 |
| 25 |
06:59
↑
117° ESE
|
17:09
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 10m | +0m 09s | 05:32 | 18:35 | 06:02 | 18:06 | 06:32 | 17:36 | 12:03 | 147.13 |
| 26 |
06:59
↑
117° ESE
|
17:10
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 10m | +0m 11s | 05:33 | 18:36 | 06:02 | 18:07 | 06:32 | 17:37 | 12:04 | 147.13 |
| 27 |
07:00
↑
117° ESE
|
17:10
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 10m | +0m 14s | 05:33 | 18:36 | 06:03 | 18:07 | 06:33 | 17:37 | 12:04 | 147.12 |
| 28 |
07:00
↑
117° ESE
|
17:11
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 10m | +0m 17s | 05:34 | 18:37 | 06:03 | 18:08 | 06:33 | 17:38 | 12:05 | 147.12 |
| 29 |
07:00
↑
117° ESE
|
17:11
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 11m | +0m 19s | 05:34 | 18:38 | 06:03 | 18:08 | 06:33 | 17:38 | 12:05 | 147.11 |
| 30 |
07:01
↑
117° ESE
|
17:12
↑
243° WSW
|
10h 11m | +0m 22s | 05:34 | 18:38 | 06:04 | 18:09 | 06:34 | 17:39 | 12:06 | 147.11 |
| 31 |
07:01
↑
116° ESE
|
17:13
↑
244° WSW
|
10h 12m | +0m 24s | 05:35 | 18:39 | 06:04 | 18:10 | 06:34 | 17:40 | 12:06 | 147.11 |
|
All times are in local time for Central. Time is adjusted for Daylight Saving Time (DST) when applicable. Calculations account for atmospheric refraction and are based on the Gregorian calendar. Today's date is in the table. |
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In Central, the earliest sunrise of December is on December 01 and the latest sunset of December is on December 31.
2026 Sun Graph for Central
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Sun's Path on Selected Date in Central
Today's Sunrise & Sunset times in other cities in United States:
Browse Sunrise Times in United States by cities in alphabetical order:
Sunrise & Sunset times in United States ›
Is the Day Getting Longer or Shorter in Central?
Days in Central are currently getting shorter by about 1m 11s each day, roughly 8 minutes less daylight per week.
Golden Hour & Blue Hour in Central Today
| Morning | Evening | |
|---|---|---|
| Blue hour | 05:51-06:01 | 20:19-20:29 |
| Golden hour | 06:01-06:51 | 19:29-20:19 |
Central's Longest and Shortest Days
| Event | Date | Daylight |
|---|---|---|
| Longest day | June 22, 2026 | -10h 06m |
| Shortest day | December 21, 2026 | 10h 09m |
| Earliest sunrise | June 5, 2026 | 06:01 |
| Latest sunset | June 26, 2026 | 20:10 |
Understanding Twilight & the Golden Hour
After the sun drops below the horizon, the sky does not turn dark all at once. Civil twilight is the brightest stage, when there is still enough natural light for most outdoor activities. Nautical twilight follows, when the sea horizon becomes hard to make out. Astronomical twilight is the darkest stage, after which the sky is fully dark and the faintest stars appear. The same three stages occur in reverse before sunrise, as dawn.
Photographers in Central get the golden hour at 06:01-06:51 in the morning and 19:29-20:19 in the evening today; the bluish blue hour falls near 05:51-06:01 and 20:19-20:29. Both windows move across the seasons.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sun in Central
What time is sunrise in Central today?
The sun rises over Central today at 06:18 local time.
What time is sunset in Central today?
Sunset in Central today is at 20:02 local time.
What time is solar noon in Central today?
Solar noon in Central — when the sun is at its highest point in the sky — is at 13:10 local time today.
When does civil twilight begin and end in Central?
In Central today: civil twilight begins at 05:51 (before sunrise) and ends at 20:29 (after sunset). Civil twilight is the brightest of the three twilight phases.
When does nautical twilight occur in Central?
Nautical twilight in Central today runs from 05:19 in the morning to 21:01 in the evening — the period when the horizon is still visible to sailors but stars are out.
When is the sky fully dark in Central for stargazing?
Astronomical twilight in Central ends at 21:35 in the evening and resumes at 04:45 in the morning — between those times the sky is fully dark, ideal for observing faint stars and deep-sky objects.
Where on the horizon does the sun rise and set in Central?
Today in Central, the sun rises at an azimuth of 67° and sets at 293° (measured clockwise from due north). The exact angle shifts slightly each day with the seasons.
