West Lafayette is a city of about 45,550 people in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, at 186 m (610 ft). Today the sun rises at 8:04 AM and sets at 7:02 PM; the evening golden hour runs 6:24 PM – 7:19 PM. Below are monthly times, sun directions, the best photo locations within 80 km and the nearest dark skies.
Sunrise, sunset & golden hour by month
| Month (15th) | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8:09 AM | 8:51 AM | 5:04 PM | 5:46 PM | 6:16 PM | 9h 36m |
| February | 7:42 AM | 8:20 AM | 5:45 PM | 6:23 PM | 6:51 PM | 10h 41m |
| March | 8:00 AM | 8:36 AM | 7:19 PM | 7:55 PM | 8:22 PM | 11h 54m |
| April | 7:10 AM | 7:46 AM | 7:50 PM | 8:27 PM | 8:55 PM | 13h 17m |
| May | 6:32 AM | 7:11 AM | 8:19 PM | 8:58 PM | 9:28 PM | 14h 25m |
| June | 6:18 AM | 6:59 AM | 8:39 PM | 9:20 PM | 9:53 PM | 15h 03m |
| July | 6:31 AM | 7:11 AM | 8:38 PM | 9:18 PM | 9:50 PM | 14h 47m |
| August | 6:59 AM | 7:37 AM | 8:09 PM | 8:47 PM | 9:16 PM | 13h 48m |
| September | 7:29 AM | 8:05 AM | 7:22 PM | 7:58 PM | 8:26 PM | 12h 29m |
| October | 7:59 AM | 8:36 AM | 6:32 PM | 7:09 PM | 7:37 PM | 11h 10m |
| November | 7:35 AM | 8:15 AM | 4:51 PM | 5:32 PM | 6:01 PM | 9h 57m |
| December | 8:05 AM | 8:48 AM | 4:39 PM | 5:23 PM | 5:54 PM | 9h 18m |
Local time in America/Indiana/Indianapolis, daylight saving time included.
Where the sun rises and sets in West Lafayette
At West Lafayette the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 58° (ENE) at the June solstice and 121° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 302° (WNW) in June to 239° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 73° in summer but only 26° in winter.
Best photo spots near West Lafayette
48 photo locations lie within 80 km of West Lafayette. Each links to a full planning page with sunrise and sunset directions.
Waterfalls
State Parks
Lakes
Botanical Gardens
Covered Bridges
Covered Bridge
Covered Bridge
Covered Bridge
Covered Bridge
Covered Bridge
Covered BridgeNatural Arches
Night sky, Milky Way & aurora
The sky over central West Lafayette is estimated at Bortle 8 (city sky). The nearest truly dark location in our database is Chatterton, about 28 km (18 mi) away (Bortle 3). The Milky Way core is up during darkness from March to September, best in June. Northern lights need roughly Kp 6.5+ to appear low on the northern horizon here.
Darkest skies within 200 km
| Location | Type | Distance | Est. Bortle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chatterton | Ghost Town | 28 km (18 mi) | 3 |
| Brisco | Ghost Town | 38 km (24 mi) | 3 |
| Portland Arch | Natural Arch | 43 km (27 mi) | 3 |
| Sloan | Ghost Town | 50 km (31 mi) | 3 |
| Cades Mill Bridge | Covered Bridge | 53 km (33 mi) | 3 |
| Wallace Covered Bridge | Covered Bridge | 53 km (33 mi) | 3 |
| Deer's Mill Covered Bridge | Covered Bridge | 55 km (34 mi) | 3 |
| Shades State Park | State Park | 56 km (35 mi) | 3 |
| Month | Milky Way core window (15th) | Hours | Max altitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | 6:05 AM – 6:05 AM | 0.0 | 11° |
| March | 5:16 AM – 6:26 AM | 1.2 | 17° |
| April | 3:15 AM – 5:25 AM | 2.2 | 20° |
| May | 1:10 AM – 4:30 AM | 3.3 | 21° |
| June | 11:26 PM – 4:06 AM | 4.7 | 21° |
| July | 11:17 PM – 2:47 AM | 3.5 | 21° |
| August | 10:30 PM – 12:40 AM | 2.2 | 20° |
| September | 9:32 PM – 10:42 PM | 1.2 | 17° |
| October | 8:40 PM – 8:40 PM | 0.0 | 11° |
Cloud cover by month
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show September as the clearest month (about 44% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (74%). July is the warmest month and January the coldest, which matters for gear, snow access and how long batteries last at night.