Dictionary term
Nautical Dusk
Direct answer
Nautical Dusk is the evening instant when the Sun center reaches 12 degrees below the horizon.
Nautical Dusk ends nautical twilight at a -12-degree solar altitude.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Seasons & Earth Almanac
- Also appears in
- Seasons & Earth Almanac
- Aliases
- None listed
- Last updated
- 2026-07-16
Quick reference
- Use when
- Use Nautical Dusk for marine observing, twilight photography, and the transition into darker sky.
- Do not use it for
- Local haze and sea state can erase the horizon well before the calculated threshold.
- Reference category
- Seasons & Earth Almanac
- Related terms
- Nautical Dawn, Astronomical Dawn, Astronomical Season, Equinox
The story behind Nautical Dusk
Sextant practice made evening nautical twilight a valuable period for obtaining multiple star sights.
Nautical Dusk in spiritual tradition
Spiritually, Nautical Dusk can honor the skill of navigating by evidence in diminishing light.
The Great Almanac frames Nautical Dusk with educational restraint. Mystical or symbolic language may be meaningful, but it should not be exaggerated into certainty, panic, or permission to ignore ordinary responsibility.
Nautical Dusk in the Bible
This is a factual calendar, astronomy, Earth-science, cultural-history, or observational reference. It can support wonder and practical planning without becoming a claim of fate, spiritual causation, or private revelation.
Nautical Dusk in numerology
Nautical Dusk is not a numerology claim. Any numbers attached to it should retain their ordinary scientific, calendrical, navigational, or historical meaning unless a separate symbolic interpretation is clearly labeled.
Why Nautical Dusk matters
It marks the end of the classic evening period when horizon and navigational stars may both be discernible.
Example in a reading: After Nautical Dusk, the horizon usually becomes harder to distinguish even as more stars emerge.
Interpretive caution: Local haze and sea state can erase the horizon well before the calculated threshold.
How Nautical Dusk is used in a reading
Use Nautical Dusk for marine observing, twilight photography, and the transition into darker sky.
Where interpretation stops
Nautical Dusk is presented as sourced astronomy, calendrical, Earth-science, cultural, or instrument-history reference. Definitions should distinguish measured phenomena from civil convention and historical interpretation, preserve location and time dependencies, and avoid turning factual sky data into a deterministic personal claim.
Sources and editorial method
Research references used for this entry include:
- U.S. Naval Observatory: Rise, Set, and Twilight Definitions - Official definitions used for sunrise, sunset, refraction, and twilight calculations.
- NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory: Solar Calculator Glossary - NOAA definitions for solar geometry, atmospheric refraction, and civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight.
The page starts with a direct definition, then separates use, example, caution, spiritual meaning, and historical context. For astrology, occult, demonology, curse, and spiritual warfare terms, the editorial rule is to explain the term without making fear-based, fatalistic, medical, legal, financial, or ritual-instruction claims.
Continue learning
Continue into the live sky, space weather, universal timing, and the wider field surrounding the current season.
Open Worldwide WatchRelated terms
These related entries help place Nautical Dusk inside a wider reference cluster instead of leaving it as a standalone keyword.
