Night

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For other uses, see Night (disambiguation).

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View across the bay of Naples at night

A starry night in inland Tanzania

Night or nighttime (sp. night-time or night time) is the period from sunset to sunrise in each
twenty-four hours[1], when the Sun is below the horizon. However it can be defined differently and
is subjective. Night can be defined as the time between bedtime and morning[2]. There is no exact
time for when night begins and ends (equally true with evening). The start of night begins when
evening ends, which is subjective, but is typically believed to end at astronomical sunset, which
is when night may begin. There can be no precise definition in terms of clock time, but it is
usually considered to start around 9 pm and to last to about 4 am[3]. Since sunset and sunrise
vary throughout the year[4] there can be no precise definition in terms of clock time. Night
and morning overlap when one considers morning to start past 12 am (however this is subjective
and may others consider morning to begin at sunrise)[5], which can be described as 'morning-
night duality'.
Night is used as a farewell, 'good night'. And sometimes shortened to 'night'. Unlike
'good morning', 'good afternoon', and 'good evening', 'good night' is typically not used
a greeting.[6]
Complete darkness or astronomical night is the period between astronomical dusk and
astronomical dawn when the Sun is between 18 and 90 degrees below the horizon and does not
illuminate the sky. As seen from latitudes between 48.5° and 66.5° north or south of the Equator,
complete darkness does not occur around the summer solstice because although the Sun sets, it
is never more than 18° below the horizon at lower culmination.
The opposite of night is day (or "daytime", to distinguish it from "day" referring to a 24-hour
period). The start and end points of time for a night vary, based on factors such
as season, latitude, longitude, and time zone. Twilight is the period of night after sunset or before
sunrise when the Sun still illuminates the sky when it is below the horizon. At any given time, one
side of Earthis bathed in sunlight (the daytime) while the other side is in the shadow caused by
Earth blocking the sunlight. The central part of the shadow is called the umbra.
Natural illumination at night is still provided by a combination of moonlight, planetary
light, starlight, zodiacal light, gegenschein, and airglow. In some
circumstances, aurorae, lightning, and bioluminescence can provide some illumination.
The glow provided by artificial lighting is sometimes referred to as light pollution because it can
interfere with observational astronomy and ecosystems.