![]() |
Royal Astronomical Society of New ZealandSun Rise and Set Times for New Zealand |
The table gives the times of Sun rise and Sun set for four centres in New Zealand. These can be used for any year as times will not vary by more than a minute or two on the same date from year to year. Times are for a horizon level with the observer and do not allow for hills or mountains obscuring the horizon.
New Zealand Standard Time (NZST) is used in the winter months and is 12 hours ahead of Universal Time (UT). UT is virtually the same as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT) is used in the Summer months and is 13 hours ahead of UT. NZDT starts on the last Sunday in September (from 2007) and ends on the first Sunday in April (from 2008). (Previously the first Sunday in October and third in March respectively.) Times in the table are in NZST or NZDT as is appropriate.
Times of Moon rise and set are available on the LINZ Astronomical Site for a 12 month period:2007 and 2008
Sun rise and set times starting in: January March May July September November
Sun rise and set in other parts of New Zealand. RASNZ Home Page.
Detailed times of Sunrise and Sunset for other places in New Zealand can be found on the LINZ astronomical information web pages.
In the North Island, Auckland and Wellington are virtually the same longitude, so for places like Hamilton, Taumarunui, Wanganui and Palmerston North, between them, times can be determined by proportion.
Also note that in midsummer, December and January, times of Sun rise for all places on the east coast of New Zealand are almost the same. This is true from East Cape, north of Gisborne in the North Island to Dunedin and Stewart Island in the South Island and includes Wellington. The same applies to the time of Sun set in winter, June and July.
Near the equinoxes, in March and September, latitude is unimportant, the times of Sun rise and set depend on longitude as explained above. That is, places at the same longtitude have similar times of sunrise and sunset, whatever their latitude.
In summer for places with the same longitude, sunrise is earlier and sunset later the further south one goes, ie the hours of daylight are longer. The reverse is true in winter, hours of daylight are less in the south, that is the sun rises later and sets earlier in the south compared to the north, again for places at the same longitude.