You’re squinting at your phone at 5:00 AM. The screen is way too bright. You just want to know what time is sunrise this morning because you have a plane to catch, a fish to hook, or a photo to take. But here is the thing: that single number on your weather app is kinda lying to you.
It’s not a conspiracy. It’s just physics.
Most people think sunrise is a specific moment, like a light switch flipping on. In reality, it’s a messy, atmospheric event that starts way before the sun actually crests the horizon. If you show up exactly at the time listed for "sunrise," you’ve already missed the best part. You missed the civil twilight. You missed the "blue hour." Honestly, you basically missed the show.
The Science of What Time Is Sunrise This Morning
When we talk about the official time, we are talking about the exact moment the upper limb of the sun appears on the horizon. This is calculated based on your specific latitude and longitude. Today, Saturday, January 17, 2026, the timing varies wildly depending on where you're standing.
For example, if you are in Miami, you’re looking at roughly 7:09 AM. Head up to New York City, and you’re waiting until 7:15 AM. But wait—if you’re in Seattle, the sun isn't showing its face until 7:54 AM.
The Earth isn't a perfect sphere, and it isn't upright. It's tilted at roughly $23.5°$. Because of this tilt, winter sunrises in the Northern Hemisphere are sluggish. They drag their feet.
Atmospheric refraction plays a huge role too. This is a trip: you actually "see" the sun before it is physically above the horizon. The Earth’s atmosphere bends the light rays, lifting the image of the sun upward. So, when you see that first golden sliver, the sun is technically still below the line of sight. You are looking at a mirage of sorts.
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The Twilight Zones You Need to Know
If you are asking what time is sunrise this morning because you want to go for a run or drive without headlights, you actually care about twilight.
There are three stages. Civil twilight is the one most of us care about. It starts when the sun is $6°$ below the horizon. During this time, there is enough light to see clearly, and the brightest stars vanish. Then you have nautical twilight ($12°$ below) where sailors used to navigate via the horizon, and astronomical twilight ($18°$ below) which is basically just "not quite pitch black" for telescope nerds.
For today, January 17, civil twilight generally begins about 25 to 30 minutes before the official sunrise time. If the app says 7:15 AM, you can usually see well enough to walk the dog by 6:45 AM.
Why Your Elevation Changes Everything
Are you on a balcony? A mountain? The beach?
If you are at the top of a skyscraper in Chicago, you will see the sunrise significantly earlier than the person on the sidewalk below you. This is the "dip of the horizon." For every 100 meters of elevation, you shave about a minute off the sunrise time.
I remember talking to a surveyor about this once. He mentioned that on high peaks, the sun can appear several minutes before the "official" time calculated for sea level. If you're hiking a 14er in Colorado this morning, don't trust the town's weather report. You'll be blinded by light while the valley is still in deep purple shadow.
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Local Obstructions: The "Hidden" Delay
The official time assumes a perfectly flat, unobstructed horizon. Like the ocean.
If you live in a valley or a city with massive buildings, your personal "sunrise" might be 45 minutes late. In places like the Appalachian Mountains, the sun has to climb over a ridge before it hits your house. That’s why "first light" and "sunrise" are two very different vibes.
How to Get the Most Accurate Timing Today
Don't just Google it and take the first snippet as gospel. Snippets often pull data for the nearest major airport, which might be 40 miles away. That distance can result in a 2-4 minute discrepancy.
- Check the coordinates. Use a tool like the NOAA Solar Calculator. It lets you plug in your exact GPS coordinates.
- Look at the cloud cover. Heavy stratus clouds on the eastern horizon can delay the visual appearance of the sun by 10 minutes or more. It just stays gray until the sun is high enough to burn through the soup.
- Account for the "Green Flash." If you are at the ocean today with a perfectly clear horizon, watch the very last second of sunset or the very first of sunrise. For a literal fraction of a second, the light can turn vivid green due to atmospheric dispersion. It’s rare, but January air is often crisp and clear enough to see it.
The Psychological Impact of Early Light
There is a reason why everyone is obsessed with what time is sunrise this morning. It's biological.
Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist at Stanford, talks constantly about "viewing morning sunlight." He argues that getting photons into your eyes within the first hour of waking up triggers a cortisol spike that sets your circadian clock. It helps you sleep better tonight.
If you miss it because you were looking at your phone—which emits blue light but doesn't have the lux intensity of the sun—you’re basically jet-lagging yourself. Even on a cloudy day, the light intensity outside is significantly higher than your indoor office lights.
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Practical Next Steps for Your Morning
Now that you know the official time is just a baseline, here is how to actually use that info.
First, get outside at least 15 minutes before the listed time. This is when the "Alpenglow" happens—that pinkish hue on the clouds that looks better in photos than the actual sun does. If you’re a photographer, this is your window. Use an app like PhotoPills to see exactly where the sun will pop out relative to the landscape.
Second, if you’re driving east, buy some decent polarized sunglasses. On January 17, the sun is still quite low in the sky for most of the day in the Northern Hemisphere. The glare at 8:00 AM today will be brutal because the sun's angle is shallow.
Finally, check your local "Golden Hour" timing. It usually lasts for about 40 minutes after the sun clears the horizon. This is the best light for skin tones and outdoor portraits. If you’re planning a morning shoot, your window starts at sunrise and closes fast.
Stop staring at the clock and just look at the sky. The colors start changing way before the numbers say they should.