A Year of Twilight: A Graphical View

The graphic below will be used to create charts showing when a celestial object is above a certain altitude (i.e. 30 & 50 degrees above either horizon). The thick black line shows when the star is transiting the meridian.

Overlaying the three twilights shows when the star is 'at altitude'.

[Image] Twilight Chart
[Image] γ Cas - Transit & 30°/50° Alt.

Definitions:

• Civil Twilight (outside lines) is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening when the center of the Sun is geometrically 6 degrees below the horizon. This is the limit at which twilight illumination is sufficient, under good weather conditions, for terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished; at the beginning of morning civil twilight, or end of evening civil twilight, the horizon is clearly defined and the brightest stars are visible under good atmospheric conditions in the absence of moonlight or other illumination. In the morning before the beginning of civil twilight and in the evening after the end of civil twilight, artificial illumination is normally required to carry on ordinary outdoor activities. Complete darkness, however, ends sometime prior to the beginning of morning civil twilight and begins sometime after the end of evening civil twilight.

• Nautical Twilight (middle lines) is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening, when the center of the sun is geometrically 12 degrees below the horizon. At the beginning or end of nautical twilight, under good atmospheric conditions and in the absence of other illumination, general outlines of ground objects may be distinguishable, but detailed outdoor operations are not possible, and the horizon is indistinct.

• Astronomical Twilight (inside lines) is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening when the center of the Sun is geometrically 18 degrees below the horizon. Before the beginning of astronomical twilight in the morning and after the end of astronomical twilight in the evening the Sun does not contribute to sky illumination; for a considerable interval after the beginning of morning twilight and before the end of evening twilight, sky illumination is so faint that it is practically imperceptible.

Definitions from 'U.S. Naval Observatory: Rise, Set, and Twilight Definitions'.