Calculated sunrise, sunset, golden hour and blue hour times for Des Moines, IA. Select a date to view the calculated light times.
The month-by-month table below is in this city's own local time. The live times above follow your device's timezone. Mountains, ridgelines and buildings can shorten the usable window — scout your horizon.
Terrain, buildings and weather can affect visible light. Check the horizon and conditions at the selected location.
Golden hour in Des Moines is the hour before sunset — and sunset here runs from 4:44 PM in December to 8:52 PM in June. The table below gives the exact window for every month, in Des Moines's own time zone.
Use the live times above for today's exact window. As a rule, evening golden hour in Des Moines starts about 42 minutes before sunset and ends at sunset. In June that is 8:08 PM – 8:50 PM; in December it is 4:00 PM – 4:45 PM.
Sunset in Des Moines is earliest at 4:44 PM on December 2 and latest at 8:52 PM on June 20, a swing of about 4 hours across the year.
Golden hour lasts about 42 minutes in midsummer and 45 minutes in midwinter. The longest evening golden hour falls in December at about 45 minutes; the shortest is in September at about 36 minutes.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour (evening) | Length | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:38 AM | 5:09 PM | 4:26 PM – 5:09 PM | 43 min | 9h 31m |
| February | 7:09 AM | 5:48 PM | 5:09 PM – 5:48 PM | 39 min | 10h 39m |
| March | 7:26 AM | 7:21 PM | 6:44 PM – 7:21 PM | 37 min | 11h 55m |
| April | 6:34 AM | 7:55 PM | 7:17 PM – 7:55 PM | 38 min | 13h 21m |
| May | 5:55 AM | 8:27 PM | 7:47 PM – 8:27 PM | 40 min | 14h 32m |
| June | 5:39 AM | 8:50 PM | 8:08 PM – 8:50 PM | 42 min | 15h 11m |
| July | 5:53 AM | 8:47 PM | 8:06 PM – 8:47 PM | 41 min | 14h 53m |
| August | 6:23 AM | 8:13 PM | 7:35 PM – 8:13 PM | 38 min | 13h 51m |
| September | 6:54 AM | 7:23 PM | 6:47 PM – 7:23 PM | 36 min | 12h 29m |
| October | 7:26 AM | 6:33 PM | 5:55 PM – 6:33 PM | 38 min | 11h 06m |
| November | 7:03 AM | 4:54 PM | 4:12 PM – 4:54 PM | 42 min | 9h 51m |
| December | 7:34 AM | 4:45 PM | 4:00 PM – 4:45 PM | 45 min | 9h 11m |
Golden hour is the period near sunrise and sunset when the sun is low. Blue hour occurs before sunrise and after sunset. Calculated times vary with location and date; weather, terrain and buildings can affect visible light.
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