Twilight facts for kids
Twilight means either dawn (in the morning) or dusk (in the evening).
In the morning, dawn is when it is not dark any more, and the light of the sun is just starting to appear. In the evening, it is the other way around and that phenomenon is called dusk. The sun has disappeared, and darkness is setting in. Light fades away.
The following have been defined:
- Civil twilight is when the sun is less than 6° below the horizon. It ends at sunrise in the morning or follows sunset in the evening.
- Dark twilight is when the sun is between 6° and 9° below the horizon.
- Black twilight is when the sun is between 9° and 12° below the horizon.
- Astronomical twilight is when the sun is between 12° and 18° below the horizon.
For all these definitions, the horizon is at the sea which is flat.
Images for kids
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Midtown Manhattan during civil twilight, demonstrating blue hour
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Civil twilight in a small town in the Mojave Desert
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Long exposure of astronomical twilight (dusk) in a small town in the Mojave Desert
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At the beginning of nautical twilight, artificial lighting must be used to see terrestrial objects clearly.
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Evening astronomical twilight (dusk)
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Carpet plot of sunshine at latitude 50 North
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Twilight at Paranal Observatory in Chile
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American Benedictine monks around an Easter fire preparing to light the Paschal candle prior to Easter Vigil mass
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View from the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, at evening civil twilight, Taipei, Taiwan
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Morning twilight mountain moonset
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Midsummer twilight over Rainbow Ridge, Landers, California.
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Clouds begin to glow with colors at nautical dawn, the second stage of twilight, when the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon.
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Characteristic polar night blue twilight, Longyearbyen, Svalbard, located at 78° north
See also
In Spanish: Crepúsculo para niños
