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    date_sunrise

    (PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)

    date_sunrise — Returns time of sunrise for a given day and location

    Warning

    This function has been DEPRECATED as of PHP 8.1.0. Relying on this function is highly discouraged. Use date_sun_info() instead.

    Description

    date_sunrise(
        int $timestamp,
        int $returnFormat = SUNFUNCS_RET_STRING,
        ?float $latitude = null,
        ?float $longitude = null,
        ?float $zenith = null,
        ?float $utcOffset = null
    ): string|int|float|false

    date_sunrise() returns the sunrise time for a given day (specified as a timestamp) and location.

    Parameters

    timestamp

    The timestamp of the day from which the sunrise time is taken.

    returnFormat

    returnFormat constants
    constant description example
    SUNFUNCS_RET_STRING returns the result as string 16:46
    SUNFUNCS_RET_DOUBLE returns the result as float 16.78243132
    SUNFUNCS_RET_TIMESTAMP returns the result as int (timestamp) 1095034606

    latitude

    Defaults to North, pass in a negative value for South. See also: date.default_latitude

    longitude

    Defaults to East, pass in a negative value for West. See also: date.default_longitude

    zenith

    zenith is the angle between the center of the sun and a line perpendicular to earth's surface. It defaults to date.sunrise_zenith

    Common zenith angles
    Angle Description
    90°50' Sunrise: the point where the sun becomes visible.
    96° Civil twilight: conventionally used to signify the start of dawn.
    102° Nautical twilight: the point at which the horizon starts being visible at sea.
    108° Astronomical twilight: the point at which the sun starts being the source of any illumination.

    utcOffset

    Specified in hours. The utcOffset is ignored, if returnFormat is SUNFUNCS_RET_TIMESTAMP.

    Return Values

    Returns the sunrise time in a specified returnFormat on success or false on failure. One potential reason for failure is that the sun does not rise at all, which happens inside the polar circles for part of the year.

    Errors/Exceptions

    Every call to a date/time function will generate a E_WARNING if the time zone is not valid. See also date_default_timezone_set()

    Changelog

    Version Description
    8.1.0 This function has been deprecated in favor of date_sun_info().
    8.0.0 latitude, longitude, zenith and utcOffset are nullable now.

    Examples

    Example #1 date_sunrise() example

    <?php

    /* calculate the sunrise time for Lisbon, Portugal
    Latitude: 38.4 North
    Longitude: 9 West
    Zenith ~= 90
    offset: +1 GMT
    */

    echo date("D M d Y"). ', sunrise time : ' .date_sunrise(time(), SUNFUNCS_RET_STRING, 38.4, -9, 90, 1);

    ?>

    The above example will output something similar to:

    Mon Dec 20 2004, sunrise time : 08:54

    Example #2 No sunrise

    <?php
    $solstice     = strtotime('2017-12-21');
    var_dump(date_sunrise($solstice, SUNFUNCS_RET_STRING, 69.245833, -53.537222));
    ?>

    The above example will output:

    bool(false)

    See Also

    • date_sun_info() - Returns an array with information about sunset/sunrise and twilight begin/end

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    User Contributed Notes 3 notes

    up
    1
    nomail at nospam dot com
    6 years ago
    maybe I am wrong, but I think

    SUNFUNCS_RET_TIMESTAMP     return GMT(0) time

    SUNFUNCS_RET_STRING     Return local time
    SUNFUNCS_RET_DOUBLE     Return local time
    up
    0
    scottix at gmail dot com
    10 years ago
    If you are working in multiple timezones getting the offset from a date is a little tricky because you need it in hours.

    <?php

    $time     = new DateTime('now', new DateTimeZone('America/Los_Angeles'));

    date_sunrise(
    $time->getTimestamp(),
    SUNFUNCS_RET_TIMESTAMP,
    38.4,
    -    9,
    90,
    $time->getOffset() / 3600
    );
    up
    -5
    jonathanNO dot kuhnSPAM at gmailNOSPAM dot com
    14 years ago
    After some searching, I finally found a website that can calculate the sun's zenith. Just look up your city's lat/long (remember, west/south are negative even if it doesn't show where you look up the lat/long) and the time of sunrise/sunset and use this site:

    http://solardat.uoregon.edu/cgi-bin/SolarPositionCalculator.cgi

    You have to enter in the sunrise/sunset times separately, but it works.
    San Diego is:
    Lat: 32.73
    Long: -117.17
    Sunrise Z.: 90.7379
    Sunset Z.: 90.8880
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