Sunset & Sunrise: Moon & Sun

What the app is for and who it suits

Sunset & Sunrise: Moon & Sun is a planning app for photographers and anyone who shoots outdoors. It is published under the PhotoTime name and is ad-free. It is built around timing: when the light is soft and warm, when the sky is deep blue, and where the Sun and Moon will be on a given date.

It covers golden hour (also called magic hour), blue hour, sunrise, sunset, full moons and every twilight stage in between. Those times are listed for your location, so you can pick a window for a shoot before you leave the house.

Sun times, twilight stages and sun position

The app lists civil, nautical and astronomical twilight, so you can see exactly when the sky moves from bright to dark. Sun position tracking shows where the Sun is for your location and date. The interactive map draws the Sun Path, so you can see which direction the light will come from across the day.

Augmented reality mode overlays the Sun and Moon on your camera view. This helps you judge where a sunset will fall behind a building or a hill before you arrive.

Moon phases, moonrise and supermoon dates

Moon phases are tracked along with the next full moon and new moon. The app gives local moonrise and moonset times and shows the Moon's position for a chosen location and date. This is useful for a moonlit walk or for planning a Moon photo.

A supermoon calendar lists upcoming supermoon dates. The Moon Path appears on the same map as the Sun Path, so both can be compared for the same spot.

Scouting locations and checking the sky

You can scout photo locations and save the ones you like, so favourite spots are kept in one place for later trips. A sunset forecast is shown to help you judge whether the sky is likely to be worth the trip. Weather forecasts are included alongside it.

The app also functions as a Photography Ephemeris, giving the Sun and Moon data needed to plan a shot ahead of time.

Notifications and home screen widgets

Smart notifications can alert you to Golden Hour, Sunrise, Sunset and Moon events, so you do not have to check the times each day. Home screen widgets display the key times without opening the app.