Parts of a day

thumb|Morning on a farm in [[Namibia, just after sunrise]] Morning is either the period from sunrise to noon, or the period from midnight to noon. In the first definition it is preceded by the twilight period of dawn, and there are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's latitude, and the hours of daytime at each time of year. However, morning strictly ends at noon, when afternoon starts.

thumb|Sunrise seen over the Atlantic Ocean through [[cirrus clouds on the Jersey Shore at Spring Lake, New Jersey, U.S.]] Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon.

thumb|Evening in Parambikkulam, Kerala, [[India]] thumb|View on the bay of Naples, overlooking [[Mount Vesuvius at sunset]]

thumb|upright=1.35|Actual sunset: Two minutes before the Sun disappears below the horizon.

thumb|Baku Street at Noon (1861) by Alexey Bogolyubov, depicting shadows from the sun at its highest point over the city of [[Baku]] Noon (also known as noontime or midday) is 12 o'clock in the daytime.

thumb|Twilight is the period between dawn and [[sunrise, and between sunset and dusk.]] thumb|Morning twilight: astronomical, nautical, and civil stages at dawn. The apparent disk of the Sun is shown to scale. thumb|Evening twilight: civil, nautical, and astronomical stages at dusk. The solar disk is shown to scale.

thumb|right|Late summer dawn over the Mojave Desert, [[California]] thumb|Dawn is sometimes considered the beginning of morning twilight, the period of twilight, or the time of sunrise. Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizon. This morning twilight period will last until sunrise (when the Sun's upper limb breaks the horizon), when direct sunlight outshines the diffused light.

thumb|right|Midnight at Metz railway station, in France Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours.

thumb|right|The :de:Türkenschanzpark|Türkenschanzpark in [[Vienna during the early afternoon]] thumb|right|Visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in [[New York City during the late afternoon]] Afternoon is the period from noon to sunset or evening. It is the time when the sun is descending from its peak in the sky to somewhat before its terminus at the horizon in the west. In human life, it occupies roughly the latter half of the standard work and school day. In literal terms, it refers to a time specifically after noon.

thumb|Sunrise in Brisbane Water National Park, Australia thumb|A daytime sky with white clouds

thumb|upright=1.2|World map showing the areas of Earth receiving daylight around 1:00 pm UTC in April

moving line that separates the illuminated day side and the dark night side of a planetary body

period of twilight in the morning or evening

first and last hour of sunlight during the day

thumb|right|upright=1.35|Landers, California at nautical dusk (20-second exposure)

Christian concept of periods of prayer throughout the day

marketing term for a time when a bar or restaurant offers reduced prices on alcoholic drinks