Parnell Knob — a mountain peak in Franklin County, Pennsylvania at about 614 m (2,014 ft) above sea level — is a classic subject for landscape photographers. The nearest town is Mercersburg, about 10.6 km (6.6 mi) away (Parnell Knob lies NNE of town).
Parnell Knob is a mountain in the Ridge and Valley Appalachians region of south central Pennsylvania. This knob rises above the village of St. Thomas, where Front Mountain and Broad mountain come together. It is a feature sculptured by the hard dense Tuscarora quartzite of the Silurian age. Parnell Knob is conspicuous in that it rises abruptly above the relatively level Great Appalachian Valley.From the Wikipedia article “Parnell Knob”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Parnell Knob 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 240° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 74° in summer but only 27° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:16 AM | 90° E | 7:24 PM | 271° W | 50° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:44 AM | 58° ENE | 8:44 PM | 302° WNW | 74° | 15h 00m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:00 AM | 89° E | 7:10 PM | 271° W | 50° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:30 AM | 121° ESE | 4:50 PM | 240° WSW | 27° | 9h 20m |
Azimuth is measured clockwise from true north (90° = east, 270° = west). Computed for 2026; values change by less than a degree from year to year.
Golden hour & blue hour by month
Summits catch first and last light — alpenglow can turn rock pink or orange minutes before sunrise and after sunset while valleys stay in shadow.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:02 AM | 7:32 AM | 8:13 AM | 4:30 PM | 5:11 PM | 5:41 PM | 9h 39m |
| February | 6:38 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:43 AM | 5:10 PM | 5:48 PM | 6:15 PM | 10h 42m |
| March | 6:57 AM | 7:24 AM | 8:00 AM | 6:43 PM | 7:19 PM | 7:45 PM | 11h 55m |
| April | 6:06 AM | 6:34 AM | 7:11 AM | 7:13 PM | 7:50 PM | 8:18 PM | 13h 15m |
| May | 5:27 AM | 5:57 AM | 6:36 AM | 7:41 PM | 8:20 PM | 8:51 PM | 14h 23m |
| June | 5:10 AM | 5:43 AM | 6:24 AM | 8:02 PM | 8:42 PM | 9:15 PM | 14h 59m |
| July | 5:24 AM | 5:56 AM | 6:36 AM | 8:00 PM | 8:40 PM | 9:12 PM | 14h 44m |
| August | 5:55 AM | 6:24 AM | 7:01 AM | 7:33 PM | 8:10 PM | 8:39 PM | 13h 46m |
| September | 6:26 AM | 6:53 AM | 7:29 AM | 6:46 PM | 7:22 PM | 7:49 PM | 12h 29m |
| October | 6:55 AM | 7:22 AM | 7:59 AM | 5:57 PM | 6:33 PM | 7:01 PM | 11h 11m |
| November | 6:28 AM | 6:57 AM | 7:37 AM | 4:17 PM | 4:57 PM | 5:26 PM | 9h 59m |
| December | 6:56 AM | 7:27 AM | 8:10 AM | 4:05 PM | 4:48 PM | 5:19 PM | 9h 21m |
Local time (America/New York), including daylight saving time. Golden hour runs from about −4° to +6° solar altitude, so the morning golden hour begins during blue hour, before sunrise.
Milky Way & night sky
From Parnell Knob, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 4.8 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 21° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 4 (rural / suburban transition), good enough for detailed Milky Way images.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| February | 5:18 AM – 5:28 AM | 0.2 | 11° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:28 AM – 5:48 AM | 1.3 | 18° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:26 AM – 4:46 AM | 2.3 | 21° | SE → S |
| May | 12:30 AM – 4:00 AM | 3.5 | 21° | SE → S |
| June | 10:45 PM – 3:35 AM | 4.8 | 21° | SE → SSW |
| July | 10:37 PM – 2:07 AM | 3.5 | 21° | S → SW |
| August | 9:51 PM – 12:11 AM | 2.3 | 21° | S → SW |
| September | 8:54 PM – 10:04 PM | 1.2 | 18° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:03 PM – 8:13 PM | 0.2 | 11° | SW → SW |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | 0° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -19° | — |
Window when the galactic core is at least 10° high during astronomical darkness on the 15th of each month. Pick nights within a few days of the new moon. Plan exact nights with the Milky Way planner.
Estimated sky darkness: 4 Bortle 4 — Rural / suburban transition. Light domes are visible in several directions; the Milky Way is clear but lacks detail near the horizon. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.14 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 6.5+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show September as the clearest month (about 52% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (66%). July is the warmest month and January the coldest, which matters for gear, snow access and how long batteries last at night.
Average cloud cover (%)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °F | 68 | 76 | 78 | 89 | 91 | 98 | 103 | 100 | 98 | 95 | 78 | 72 |
| Low °F | -3 | -10 | -5 | 22 | 29 | 42 | 52 | 52 | 40 | 25 | 15 | 6 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.6 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
Monthly climatology for the surrounding 1° grid cell from NASA POWER (MERRA-2). Mountain sites can be colder and cloudier than the cell average.
Photography tips for this mountain peak
- Photograph the peak from a lake, meadow or ridge at sunrise when the face that looks east lights up first.
- Long lenses compress ridgelines; shoot the peak from several miles away to make it look massive.
- Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer at high elevations — plan summit hikes for early morning.
- Snow on the summit holds detail best when you expose for the highlights and lift shadows later.
- Bring a spare battery — cold weather and long exposures drain them fast.
Season: Early summer keeps snow on the peaks with green valleys below; autumn adds aspen or larch color in many ranges.
Suggested gear: Telephoto lens, Lightweight tripod, Warm layers, Microspikes in shoulder seasons. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Parnell Knob, closest first.
Mountain Peak
State Park
State Park
Covered Bridge
Mountain Peak
Mountain Peak
Covered Bridge
Mountain PeakFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Parnell Knob?
What time is golden hour at Parnell Knob?
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How far is Parnell Knob from Mercersburg?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, USGS GNIS / GeoNames, Wikipedia. Sun, moon and Milky Way times are computed by LWPhoto Atlas for 2026. Climate: NASA POWER. Sky darkness is a population-based estimate (Walker's law), not a measurement. See data sources & licenses.