Dictionary term
Sunset
Direct answer
Sunset is the defined instant when the Sun's upper limb disappears below the observer's horizon under standard assumptions for refraction.
Sunset is the calculated disappearance of the Sun's upper edge below the horizon.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Seasons & Earth Almanac
- Also appears in
- Seasons & Earth Almanac
- Aliases
- None listed
- Last updated
- 2026-07-15
Quick reference
- Use when
- Use Sunset with local coordinates, date, time zone, and twilight times to describe the whole evening light window.
- Do not use it for
- Do not call sunset the start of complete night or ignore terrain and atmospheric variability.
- Reference category
- Seasons & Earth Almanac
- Related terms
- Astronomical Season, Meteorological Season, Equinox, Solstice
The story behind Sunset
Almanacs have long tabulated sunset for work, worship, navigation, lighting, and seasonal planning.
Sunset in spiritual tradition
Sunset makes visible the gradual handoff between daylight and night.
The Great Almanac frames Sunset 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.
Sunset in the Bible
This is a factual astronomy, calendar, Earth-science, cultural, or historical reference. It can support wonder at the created order without becoming a claim of fate, worship, or private revelation.
Sunset in numerology
Sunset 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 Sunset matters
Sunset begins the evening transition but is not the same as full darkness; civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight follow.
Example in a reading: A planet may become visible during twilight well after the listed sunset time.
Interpretive caution: Do not call sunset the start of complete night or ignore terrain and atmospheric variability.
How Sunset is used in a reading
Use Sunset with local coordinates, date, time zone, and twilight times to describe the whole evening light window.
Where interpretation stops
Sunset 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 - Definitions used by USNO for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, and twilight.
- U.S. Naval Observatory: Complete Sun and Moon Data - Authoritative astronomical data services for positions, phases, and rise and set events.
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 Sunset inside a wider reference cluster instead of leaving it as a standalone keyword.
