Overview
A sunrise and sunset times API that works like a sunrise sunset calculator for any coordinates: get sunset time, dawn, dusk and golden hour in one call. Sunrise Sunset works by calculating the sunrise and sunset times based on the location and date provided. It returns the sunrise and sunset times in UTC in a structured format. Pass local=true to get the IANA timezone of the coordinates on any plan, and on paid plans every time again as local ISO 8601 with its UTC offset, daylight saving included, so no separate timezone lookup is needed.
Live Test Sunrise & Sunset Source →
Formula
One function covers the whole catalog: the first argument names the source, the next are its inputs, and the field after them says which single value lands in the cell. Formulas covers the grammar that applies to all of them.
=VERVE("sunrisesunset", A2, B2, "sunrise")=VERVE.CALL("sunrisesunset", A2, B2, "sunrise")A2 holds lat, B2 holds lon. Arguments go in that order — the same order as the table below.
With literal values
Nothing has to come from a cell — typed values work the same way.
=VERVE("sunrisesunset", 36.72016, -4.42034, "sunrise")=VERVE.CALL("sunrisesunset", 36.72016, -4.42034, "sunrise")Inputs
Required inputs are positional, in the order below, followed by the field. Everything else is passed as a "name", value pair after that — the same shape as SUMIFS. Premium inputs are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.
| Input | Type | Where it goes | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
latRequired | number | argument 2 (A2) | The latitude of the location range -90–90 |
lonRequired | number | argument 3 (B2) | The longitude of the location range -180–180 |
dateOptionalPremium | string | "date", value | The date for which you want to get the sunrise and sunset times (e.g., MM-DD-YYYY : 01-01-2022) date |
localOptional | boolean | "local", value | Also return the timezone of the coordinates and every time in local time timezone |
Passing an option
=VERVE("sunrisesunset", A2, B2, "sunrise", "date", "01-16-2026")=VERVE.CALL("sunrisesunset", A2, B2, "sunrise", "date", "01-16-2026")What lands in your sheet
The field — the argument after the inputs — is what makes the formula resolve to one cell. Its value is a dot-path from the table below, so swapping it is how you pull a different value — one formula per column.
Seeing everything at once
Leave the field out and the formula returns the whole response instead: two columns, field name on the left and value on the right, spilling from the cell you typed in.
=VERVE("sunrisesunset", A2, B2)=VERVE.CALL("sunrisesunset", A2, B2)The second row's table would land on top of the first's, and every cell after the first reads #REF! (#SPILL! in Excel). Keep one per sheet, or name a field, and leave the cells below and to the right empty.
Response fields
Paths are relative to data. Each one is exactly what the field argument accepts, so swapping it is how you pull a different value into a cell. On a plan without a Premium field the cell reads #PREMIUM(field) rather than a value, so a locked field never looks like a real answer.
| Use as the field | Type | Example cell value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
solarNoonPremium | string | 2026-01-16T12:28:27.256Z | Solar noon time |
sunrise | string | 2026-01-16T07:30:14.174Z | Sunrise time in ISO 8601 format |
sunset | string | 2026-01-16T17:26:40.338Z | Sunset time in ISO 8601 format |
sunriseEnd | string | 2026-01-16T07:33:11.786Z | Moment the sun's disc has fully cleared the horizon, in UTC |
sunsetStart | string | 2026-01-16T17:23:42.726Z | Moment the sun's disc first touches the horizon at sunset, in UTC |
dawn | string | 2026-01-16T07:02:03.459Z | Start of civil twilight, when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon |
dusk | string | 2026-01-16T17:54:51.053Z | End of civil twilight, when the sun drops 6 degrees below the horizon |
nauticalDawn | string | 2026-01-16T06:30:17.010Z | Start of nautical twilight, when the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon |
nauticalDusk | string | 2026-01-16T18:26:37.502Z | End of nautical twilight, when the sun drops 12 degrees below the horizon |
nightEnd | string | 2026-01-16T05:59:14.883Z | End of astronomical night, when the sun rises above 18 degrees below the horizon |
night | string | 2026-01-16T18:57:39.629Z | Start of astronomical night, when the sun drops 18 degrees below the horizon |
goldenHourEnd | string | 2026-01-16T08:09:09.341Z | End of the morning golden hour, when soft low-angle light gives way to daylight |
goldenHour | string | 2026-01-16T16:47:45.171Z | Start of the evening golden hour, when the light turns soft and low-angle |
timezone | string | Europe/Madrid | With local=true, the IANA timezone of the coordinates |
localTimesPremium | object | {…} | With local=true, every time above as local ISO 8601 with its UTC offset, null where the sun never reaches that point |
localTimes.solarNoonPremium | string | 2026-01-16T13:28:27+01:00 | Solar noon time |
localTimes.sunrisePremium | string | 2026-01-16T08:30:14+01:00 | Sunrise time in ISO 8601 format |
localTimes.sunsetPremium | string | 2026-01-16T18:26:40+01:00 | Sunset time in ISO 8601 format |
localTimes.sunriseEndPremium | string | 2026-01-16T08:33:11+01:00 | Moment the sun's disc has fully cleared the horizon, in UTC |
localTimes.sunsetStartPremium | string | 2026-01-16T18:23:42+01:00 | Moment the sun's disc first touches the horizon at sunset, in UTC |
localTimes.dawnPremium | string | 2026-01-16T08:02:03+01:00 | Start of civil twilight, when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon |
localTimes.duskPremium | string | 2026-01-16T18:54:51+01:00 | End of civil twilight, when the sun drops 6 degrees below the horizon |
localTimes.nauticalDawnPremium | string | 2026-01-16T07:30:17+01:00 | Start of nautical twilight, when the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon |
localTimes.nauticalDuskPremium | string | 2026-01-16T19:26:37+01:00 | End of nautical twilight, when the sun drops 12 degrees below the horizon |
localTimes.nightEndPremium | string | 2026-01-16T06:59:14+01:00 | End of astronomical night, when the sun rises above 18 degrees below the horizon |
localTimes.nightPremium | string | 2026-01-16T19:57:39+01:00 | Start of astronomical night, when the sun drops 18 degrees below the horizon |
localTimes.goldenHourEndPremium | string | 2026-01-16T09:09:09+01:00 | End of the morning golden hour, when soft low-angle light gives way to daylight |
localTimes.goldenHourPremium | string | 2026-01-16T17:47:45+01:00 | Start of the evening golden hour, when the light turns soft and low-angle |
Filling a whole column
Both platforms make one batched call for a column rather than one request per cell, and both cost the same — 2 credits per row looked up. How you write it differs, because the two runtimes batch at different points.
=VERVE("sunrisesunset", A2:A100, B2:B100, "sunrise")In Google Sheets, give the arguments ranges and the answers spill down from the cell you typed in. Custom functions there run synchronously and in isolation, so dragged cells cannot be coalesced — the range form is how a column becomes one call. The field is required here: a per-row two-column table has nowhere to spill. Use a full column per input (A2:A100, not A2) — a single-cell reference is read as row 1 only and the rest of the column comes back blank.
In Excel, type the formula once and fill down — no range form and none needed, because its runtime is asynchronous and the add-in coalesces the calls a fill produces into a single batched request. Do not hand VERVE.CALL a range: Excel flattens it into positional arguments, so A2:A100 arrives as a hundred separate arguments and the cell reads #ERR rather than filling.
Either way, column A holds your lat values and the answers land beside them, one row each, blank rows skipped.
When a cell doesn't fill
A failed lookup returns readable text starting with #ERR rather than a spreadsheet error, because Excel cannot show a custom message on a real error — you would get a bare #VALUE! with no reason. The trade-off is that IFERROR() will not catch it; test with LEFT(cell, 4) = "#ERR" instead. Error handling covers the rest.
| Cell reads | What happened |
|---|---|
#ERR Not connected | No API key saved. Open the side panel and connect your account. |
#ERR Replace <name> with a cell or value | A preview formula was copied as-is. Swap the placeholder for a cell reference. |
#ERR No "x" in sunrisesunset | An option name this source does not take. The message lists the ones it does. |
#ERR No data point "…" | The field path is not in the response. Check it against the table above. |
#PREMIUM(field) | The field exists but your plan does not include it. |
#ERR Out of credits | The cycle's credits are spent. Usage resets on your billing date. |
Before the formula works
The add-in reads the API key you saved once in the side panel — the key never goes in the formula, so a shared sheet does not leak it and a collaborator without access simply sees the last calculated values.
- Install the add-in for Google Sheets or Excel.
- Open the side panel and sign in, or paste a key from your dashboard.
- Type the formula above into any cell.
Use cases
- Golden Hour Photography
- Camera apps check golden hour start and civil twilight times to alert photographers when optimal natural lighting begins.
- Municipal Lighting Automation
- Smart lighting controllers switch streetlights and architectural fixtures on at sunset and off at dawn based on coordinate lookups.
- Visual Flight Dispatch
- Before dispatching visual flight rules flights, aviation platforms check nautical dawn and dusk to verify legal daylight operating hours.
- Agricultural Spray Scheduling
- To schedule field treatments during cooler periods, farm management systems use sunrise and dusk timestamps to plan early morning passes.
Other ways to use Sunrise & Sunset
Set up Sunrise & Sunset on VerveSheets, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveSheets account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.
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