Calculating…
Finding the next prayer
Today’s Salah
Prayer times in Bournemouth
—
Dawn · Sunrise—Cutoff —
Dusk · Sunset—Maghrib —
⌖
MWL calculationDhuhr +5 minMaghrib +2 min
Research & local guidance
See how every time is calculated.
Explore the astronomy behind prayer times, the Bournemouth summer-twilight question, calculation methods, safety buffers, and mosque information—all kept away from the daily prayer screen.
One important distinctionCalculated: the Sun physically reaches the selected angle.Estimated: a high-latitude rule supplies a prayer time when that angle is not reached.
Interactive diagram · Bournemouth only
How deep below the horizon?
50.7192° N · 1.8808° W
Horizon 0°Civil 6°Nautical 12°Prayer methods 15°–18°
Sun’s lowest position during each night
Time spent below each line on this night
In 2026, Bournemouth does not reach 18° for part of late spring and summer.
How Salah Atlas calculates
From the Sun’s position to your clock.
Date and coordinates
We use the selected city’s latitude and longitude. The diagram above is fixed to Bournemouth so its claim stays local and testable.
Sun’s declination
Earth’s tilt and orbit determine how far north or south the Sun appears on that date.
Hour angle
The hour-angle equation finds when the Sun crosses the required altitude: −0.833° for sunrise or sunset, and the selected twilight angle for Fajr and Isha.
Local clock time
Longitude, the equation of time and the location’s time zone convert the solar event to local clock time.
Core solar equationcos H = (sin h − sin φ sin δ) ÷ (cos φ cos δ)h = chosen Sun altitude · φ = latitude · δ = solar declination
Methods currently selectable
The difference is the twilight angle.
MethodFajrIshaMeaning
MWL18°17°Earlier Fajr and later Isha
ISNA15°15°Both use a shallower twilight
Egyptian19.5°17.5°Deepest Fajr angle of the three
When the Sun does not reach an angle, the site shows “—”. It does not silently invent an astronomical crossing.
Bournemouth proposal · under review
Khalid Shaukat’s seasonal approach
Shaukat argues that visible dawn and evening twilight change with latitude and season. He collected observations, plotted them by location and day of year, and fitted seasonal minute-offset curves. His method gives Bournemouth usable summer times even when 17° or 18° is not reached.
Evidence note: these coefficients are Shaukat’s empirical curve-fit values, not universal astronomical constants. His paper does not publish enough raw data and statistical detail to independently reconstruct every coefficient. The method is therefore shown as research under local scholarly review, not as the site’s settled default.
Precaution used on this site
Small buffers are shown openly.
Sunrise/Fajr cutoff 2 minutes before calculated sunriseDhuhr 5 minutes after calculated solar noonMaghrib 2 minutes after calculated sunset
Prayer nearby
Mosques in Bournemouth
Local mosque information loads only after you select or confirm a city. Each mosque links to its official timetable where available because jamaat times are set locally and cannot be safely estimated.
Select a city to load local mosque times.
Sources and limitations
Check the reasoning.
U.S. Naval ObservatoryRise, set and standard horizon definitions ↗NOAA Solar CalculatorSolar equations and accuracy details ↗HM Nautical Almanac OfficeAuthoritative UK astronomical data ↗Khalid Shaukat / Moonsighting.comObservation-guided Fajr and Isha method ↗MWL and ICOPHigh-latitude local relative estimation ↗
Calculated solar position is highly predictable. Visible twilight can still vary with cloud, humidity, aerosols, light pollution, observer height and the local horizon. Islamic dates also require a separate moon-sighting policy.