Sun Path: Melbourne, Australia

Direct answer

In Melbourne, the shortest day (21 June) has 9 h 33 min of daylight, from sunrise at 07:35 to sunset at 17:08 AEST, and the longest (22 December) has 14 h 47 min, from 05:54 to 20:42 AEDT. The noon sun climbs from 28.8° to 75.6° above the horizon over the year. Sunrise moves between 61° (ENE) and 121° (ESE) and sunset between 239° (WSW) and 299° (WNW). The earliest sunrise is 05:51 on 8 December and the latest sunset is 20:45 on 5 January, which are not the solstice dates. In 2026 Melbourne's clocks go back to AEST (UTC+10) on 5 April and forward to AEDT (UTC+11) on 4 October.

Content and cited inputs reviewed by Harth team · Published 2026-08-26 · Updated 2026-09-25.

When does the sun rise and set in Melbourne each month?

Times are local clock time on the 21st of each month in 2026, including daylight saving where it applies. Bearings are clockwise from true north.

How the sun moves over Melbourne through the year

At -37.81° latitude the sunrise point swings 60° along the horizon over the year, from 61° (ENE) to 121° (ESE), and sunset moves between 239° (WSW) and 299° (WNW). On the shortest day the noon sun is 28.8° above the northern horizon; on 22 December it reaches 75.6°.

Solar noon falls at 12:13–13:33 on the clock through the year, because Melbourne sits 5.0° of longitude from its time zone's reference meridian and the equation of time shifts noon by up to 16 minutes. Use the clock times in the table, not 12:00, when you set up a sun study.

Key sun dates for Melbourne in 2026

• Shortest day: 21 June, 9 h 33 min (sunrise 07:35, sunset 17:08 AEST).
• Longest day: 22 December, 14 h 47 min (sunrise 05:54, sunset 20:42 AEDT).
• Earliest sunrise: 05:51 AEDT on 8 December. Latest sunset: 20:45 AEDT on 5 January.
• Highest noon sun: 75.6° on 22 December; lowest: 28.8° on 21 June.
• Clocks: In 2026 Melbourne's clocks go back to AEST (UTC+10) on 5 April and forward to AEDT (UTC+11) on 4 October.

How these times were calculated

Harth computed each value with NOAA's solar-position equations for the GeoNames point -37.8140, 144.9633, using the standard 90.833° zenith for sunrise and sunset (refraction plus the sun's radius) and the Australia/Melbourne time zone. Hills, buildings and elevation move the sunrise and sunset you actually see by a few minutes; use surveyed site coordinates and a horizon survey for a specific building.

Where can you explore related guidance?

• Explore all solar data guidance
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• Sun Path: Bendigo, Australia
• All solar & daylight data guidance for Australia
• House Construction Cost Planning: Melbourne, Australia
• Office Construction Cost Planning: Melbourne, Australia
• Retail Construction Cost Planning: Melbourne, Australia
• School Construction Cost Planning: Melbourne, Australia

Sources and method

Location: GeoNames point -37.8140, 144.9633 (GeoNames AU dump, CC BY 4.0, ID 2158177); time zone Australia/Melbourne from the same GeoNames record. Sun positions, sunrise and sunset calculated by Harth with NOAA's solar calculator equations, including standard atmospheric refraction, for a sea-level horizon.

Source links

• download.geonames.org

• gml.noaa.gov