What times of day/night are considered dusk?

Question

got a ticket in So. Cal 3/21/08 @8:05 p.m. & wondered if this would be considered dusk or dark

Answer 1

Dusk starts at sunset, and for civil purposes it ends when the Sun is 6° below the horizon. Navigators use a broader definition than that -- 12° below the horizon. And astronomers use the broadest possible definition of twilight, ending when the Sun is 18° below the horizon.

At the time of your ticket the Sun would have been about 25° below the horizon, which would have been fully dark, even by strict astronomical standards.

Answer 2

Dusk is when the sun is going down and Dawn is when the sun is coming up. So, Dusk.

Answer 3

I consider the time from sunset until the end of civil twilight (when it gets completely dark) dusk. On that day, sunset was at 7:05:49pm and civil twilight ended at 7:30:49pm. So it was completely dark by 8:05.

Answer 4

Sunset.

It depends on the time of year. For the most part, people consider it dusk.