Sunrise and sunset in French Polynesia

Average length of day in Papeete

      sunshine duration       twilight phase

Sunrise and sunset in the most important cities of French Polynesia

The cities are ordered by their geographic position from east to west, so in an approximate direction of the sun course. Since the orbit of the sun is elliptical, sunrise or sunset never happen on a whole longitude at the same time. All data given for May 18th., localtime in French Polynesia

Sunrise and sunset by month (Papeete)

Where does the sun rise in French Polynesia?

The sun always rises in the east, everywhere and regardless of the country or continent. The easternmost city in French Polynesia is Rikitea in the region of . There, the sun rises at 6:25 am and sets at 5:26 pm these days. The latest sunset is currently experienced in the west in the city of Vaitape (Îles Sous-le-Vent) at 5:44 pm.

Duration of the sunset

The distance from the equator and the path of the sun determines not only the time of sunrise and sunset. The farther a country is from the equator, the more oblique the sun's path is to the horizon. And this causes a different duration that a sunset takes. Papeete lies on the 18th degree of southern latitude and thus a good distance from the equator. While a sunset in the northern USA or central Europe can take almost an hour, in French Polynesia it only lasts an average of 24 minutes. French Polynesia is so close to the equator that there is no noticeable difference even between June and December.

International cities for comparison