Evening

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Evening is the part of the day after the afternoon and before night. It begins when the sun is near the horizon and includes twilight and the start of darkness. Exact start and end times vary by location and time of year; some people consider evening to begin before sunset, while others say it starts at 6 p.m. The word “evening” comes from old English words meaning the time around sunset.

In daily life, many people say evening starts around 5 or 6 p.m. and ends around 9 p.m., depending on routines and daylight. For stargazers and scientists, evening is useful because some objects near the Sun are best viewed then, including Venus and Mercury. Comets can also be easier to spot as their tails grow brighter near the Sun. Evening twilight helps astronomers search for near-Earth asteroids that orbit inside Earth’s path. In mid-latitudes, around the equinoxes, people may see the zodiacal light in the evening sky.