Sun path · New York
Sunrise & sunset direction in New York
See which way the sun rises and sets in New York, with the full arc showing elevation against compass direction. Dashed curves show the June solstice, equinox and December solstice for comparison.
Drag the timeline to see where the sun will be in the sky.
Sun path in New York on Wed, Sep 23
The sun rises at 90°, E and sets at 270°, W in New York, reaching a peak elevation of 49° at solar noon. Day length is 12h 7m, measured from sunrise to sunset.
The chart above plots the full arc of the sun across the sky. The horizontal axis is compass direction, the vertical axis is elevation. Dashed reference curves show the June solstice, equinox and December solstice so you can see how the arc shifts through the year.
Use the scrubber to walk through the day and read the sun's compass bearing and elevation at any moment. For photography, check which direction light will come from at your planned shoot time and whether your subject will be front-lit, side-lit or backlit.
Sunrise and sunset direction in New York
Bearings are measured clockwise from north and calculated from the sun path for this location.
| Date | Sun rises | Sun sets |
|---|---|---|
| Today | 90°, E | 270°, W |
| June solstice | 58°, ENE | 303°, WNW |
| Equinox | 89°, E | 271°, W |
| December solstice | 121°, ESE | 239°, WSW |
Shooting the light in New York
New York sits at 40.7°N, which gives it a real seasonal swing: roughly fifteen hours of daylight at the June solstice and just over nine in late December. In winter the sun never climbs much past 26°, so even midday light stays directional - hard on schedules, generous to photographers.
The famous quirk is the street grid. Manhattan’s grid is rotated about 29° off true east-west, so twice a year - late May and mid-July - the setting sun lines up dead-on with the cross streets. That’s Manhattanhenge, and the sun-path tool on this site shows exactly how the alignment builds in the days before.
Where photographers go
DUMBO & Brooklyn Bridge Park
Sunrise frontlights the lower Manhattan skyline across the East River; at sunset the same view turns to silhouette against the colored sky.
Top of the Rock
The classic evening deck: golden hour rakes across Midtown, then the Empire State Building holds the blue hour frame.
Gantry Plaza State Park
Long Island City’s piers face Midtown across the river - sunset drops behind the skyline, so arrive early for the warm frontlit phase from the east bank in the morning.
Cross streets in Midtown
For Manhattanhenge, 14th, 23rd, 34th and 42nd give long, clear sightlines west.
Frequently asked
- Which way does the sun rise in New York?
- On Wed, Sep 23, the sun rises in New York at 90°, E (east).
- Which direction does the sun set in New York in December?
- At the December solstice, the sun sets in New York at 239°, WSW (west-southwest).
- How high does the sun get in New York?
- On Wed, Sep 23, the sun reaches about 49° above the horizon at its highest point in New York.
