Street View for the Sun
Drop a pin anywhere on Earth. See the sun's exact path across the sky from that spot — with the real terrain on the horizon.
The Problem
Every sunrise/sunset app on the internet assumes you're standing on a perfectly flat plane. They all give you the same time whether you're in a deep valley or on an exposed ridge.
If you're a photographer chasing golden hour, an eclipse chaser picking a viewing spot, or just someone who wants to know when the sun actually clears the mountain behind your house — those flat-earth times can be off by 10, 20, even 40 minutes.
Heliora fixes this. It reads real satellite elevation data, builds a 360° terrain profile from your exact coordinates, and computes when the sun actually appears or disappears behind the landscape. No approximations, no lookup tables — real geometry from real terrain.
Key Features
Terrain-Adjusted Sun Times
Sunrise and sunset times computed against a 360° horizon profile built from satellite elevation data. See exactly when the sun clears a ridge or drops behind a mountain at your location.
3D Sky View
A full-dome sky simulation showing the sun's arc, moon position, and real terrain silhouette on the horizon — rendered in your browser with Three.js. Drag to look around, scrub time to watch the sun move.
Eclipse Simulation
Preview any solar eclipse from 2024–2035 at any location. See contact times, obscuration, sky darkening, corona, diamond ring effect, and whether terrain blocks the low sun during the event.
Golden Hour Finder
Scan upcoming days to find when golden hour lasts longest at your location. Get precise start/end times and compass bearings for planning photo shoots.
Night Sky
Stars, constellations, and Milky Way visibility computed from sidereal time. See when the galactic center rises above your terrain horizon during astronomical darkness.
Works Anywhere
Global coverage. Drop a pin on any coordinate on Earth. Terrain data covers all landmasses. Shareable URLs let you send an exact view to someone else.
What Makes Heliora Different
Most sun position tools — TimeAndDate, The Photographer's Ephemeris, PhotoPills — compute sun times against a flat mathematical horizon. They give the same sunrise time for a valley floor and a nearby hilltop. Heliora is different:
How It Works
Solar Eclipse 2026
On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will cross northern Spain, the Mediterranean, and parts of North Africa. The sun will be low on the horizon during the event — meaning terrain matters more than usual.
Heliora has detailed eclipse guides for over 33,000 cities worldwide, each computed individually with exact local contact times, obscuration percentage, and terrain notes. Use the 3D sky view to check whether a nearby mountain blocks the sun at your chosen viewing spot.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Heliora?
- Heliora is a free, browser-based tool that shows the sun's exact path from any location on Earth, with sunrise and sunset times adjusted for real terrain. It uses satellite elevation data to compute when mountains, ridges, or hills actually block the sun at your specific position — not just the flat-horizon time that most apps show.
- Is Heliora free?
- Yes. Heliora is completely free to use. No account, no sign-up, no paywall. Open the app, drop a pin, and get terrain-adjusted sun data immediately.
- How accurate are the sun times?
- Sun and moon positions are computed to within ±1 arcminute using the astronomy-engine library. Terrain data comes from Mapbox Terrain-RGB tiles (based on NASA SRTM and other sources) at approximately 30-meter resolution. The combination gives sunrise/sunset accuracy within about 1–3 minutes for most locations.
- How does it handle eclipses?
- Heliora computes local eclipse circumstances for any location using a precision astronomical engine. It calculates contact times (C1 through C4), obscuration percentage, and eclipse type from your exact coordinates. The 3D sky view renders the eclipse in real time — sky darkening, corona, diamond ring effect — and shows whether nearby terrain blocks the low sun during the event.
- What makes it different from TimeAndDate or PhotoPills?
- Most sun calculators assume a flat horizon. They give the same sunrise time whether you're in a valley or on a ridge. Heliora decodes real elevation data from satellite terrain tiles and ray-casts a 360° horizon profile from your exact coordinates. It also renders a full 3D sky dome with the actual terrain silhouette, so you can see exactly when and where the sun appears or disappears behind the landscape.
- Does it work on mobile?
- Yes. Heliora works in any modern mobile browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox) and is also available as an Android app. The interface adapts with a bottom sheet panel and touch-friendly controls.
Free. No account needed. Drop a pin and see terrain-adjusted sun data in seconds.