Information

Things to know before recording a sunrise or sunset:

• CAUTION: Never look directly into the Sun; you could damage your eyes.
• Your horizon should be as free from clouds as possible.
• You should have an unobstructed line of sight towards the horizon; that is, make sure there aren't too many trees or houses in the way.
• Your submitted video should not be longer than 5 minutes.
  • Sunrise occurs when the very top of the disk first peeks above the horizon. This may be difficult to see, but you can usually tell when the sun is about to rise because of the intense and concentrated bright spot on the horizon. Try to begin the video before the sun crests, and continue recording 15-30 seconds after you see the crest.
  • Sunset occurs when the top of the disk dips below the horizon. Begin recording about when the sun reaches the horizon and continue recording for about 15-20 more seconds after you see the sun go completely beyond the horizon.
• Do not change the exposure or zoom while recording because this will complicate the video analysis.
• Estimate the height of your recording device from the ground to the nearest foot so that we can accurately model sunrise/sunset times for your location.
  • If you are standing outside, estimate how far above the ground you are holding your device.
  • If you are standing in/on a building
    • take into account which floor you are on — 10 feet per story is a reasonable estimate
    • add that to an estimate of how far above the floor you are holding your device.

Download the Android app from the Google Play Store.

Take a video and send it to us. Your message should include GPS coordinates of the video location and the height of the camera above the ground.