Photographing the Full Moon Rising: Planning With Azimuth and Timing
The giant moon behind a lighthouse is not luck. It is a date, a direction, a distance, and a few minutes of light, all worked out before…
Today, Saturday, October 24, 2026, the sun rises at and sets at CDT in Mount Zion, Illinois, giving 10 hours, 48 minutes of daylight, 2 minutes 26 seconds shorter than yesterday.
Local time, America/Chicago (UTC−5)
| Dawn | Dusk | |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical −18° | ||
| Nautical −12° | ||
| Civil −6° | ||
| Sunrise / sunset |
| Morning | Evening | |
|---|---|---|
| Blue hour | – | – |
| Golden hour | – | – |
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today Oct 24 | 10h 48m | −2m 26s | ||
| Sun Oct 25 | 10h 45m | −2m 25s | ||
| Mon Oct 26 | 10h 43m | −2m 23s | ||
| Tue Oct 27 | 10h 41m | −2m 23s | ||
| Wed Oct 28 | 10h 38m | −2m 23s | ||
| Thu Oct 29 | 10h 36m | −2m 21s | ||
| Fri Oct 30 | 10h 34m | −2m 20s |
Sunrise and sunset each day; steps in the lines are clock changes.
| March equinox | March 20, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| June solstice longest day | June 21, 2026 | |
| September equinox | September 22, 2026 | |
| December solstice shortest day | December 21, 2026 | |
| Clocks go forward | March 8, 2026 | CDT |
| Clocks go back | November 1, 2026 | CST |
97% illuminated · 13.2 days old
Moonrise · Moonset
Next full moon: the Hunter's Moon, Sunday, October 25, 2026 at .
Today's times; the difference is against Mount Zion.
| Place | Distance | Sunrise | Sunset | Sunrise vs Mount Zion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur | 6.4 mi NW | same minute | ||
| Monticello | 24 mi NE | 51 seconds earlier | ||
| Clinton | 27 mi N | 53 seconds later | ||
| Taylorville | 27 mi SW | 1 minute 23 seconds later | ||
| Pana | 29 mi SSW | same minute | ||
| Mattoon | 33 mi SE | 2 minutes 24 seconds earlier | ||
| Lincoln | 37 mi NW | 2 minutes 29 seconds later | ||
| Savoy | 38 mi ENE | 2 minutes 6 seconds earlier | ||
| Mahomet | 38 mi NE | 1 minute 18 seconds earlier | ||
| Springfield | 41 mi W | 3 minutes 7 seconds later |
Sunrise and sunset are the moments the top edge of the sun meets a flat, sea-level horizon, with standard atmospheric refraction (the sun's centre 0.833° below the horizon). Civil, nautical and astronomical twilight begin when the sun is 6°, 12° and 18° below. Golden hour is the sun between 6° above and 4° below.
Sunrise in Mount Zion, Illinois today, Saturday, October 24, 2026, is at 7:15 AM CDT, and sunset is at 6:03 PM.
Mount Zion gets 10 hours, 48 minutes of daylight today, 2 minutes 26 seconds shorter than yesterday.
Evening golden hour in Mount Zion runs from 5:26 PM to 6:20 PM CDT today.
The longest day of 2026 in Mount Zion is June 20, 2026, with 15 hours of daylight. The shortest is December 21, 2026, with 9 hours, 21 minutes.
Mount Zion uses the America/Chicago time zone, currently CDT (UTC−5).
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