Day/Night
The day/night cycle is a 20 minute long lapse between two main light settings.
Daytime
Daytime is the longest section of the cycle, lasting 10 minutes.
- When a player first spawns in Infdev, Alpha, and Beta the cycle will always start right at the beginning of daytime.
- Daytime features the Sun, and a light blue sky. This color depends of the biome you are currently in. Deserts and Forests have a turquoise sky, while Tundra and Taiga have a more blue sky.
- During daytime, all blocks that are in direct vertical view of the sky receive daylight, the strongest light possible, which is light level 15.
- Daylight provides ample light for the growth of all trees and crops.
- Zombies and Skeletons in direct view of the sky (and not in water or minecarts) during daytime will be set on fire.
Sunset/Dusk
Lasts 1 ½ minutes.
Example sunset seen from a high spot on the map.
- A period between daytime and nighttime, when the Sun sets on the West horizon, and the Moon rises on the East horizon.
- All blocks that are in direct vertical view of the sky get 1 shade of lighting darker every 10 seconds.
- The sky near the setting sun will have a red glow when the sun sets.
- Actual time of Sunset will not change if the texture for the sun is changed. The day/night cycle will be the same length with the same effects even if the sun is visibly larger or smaller.
- The sun will also get visibly larger when it sets.
Nighttime
A Tundra biome during the night; various Mobs can be seen.
Lasts 7 minutes.
- During nighttime the world is covered in darkness with a light level of 4, and hostile mobs may spawn on the surface.
- Nighttime features the Moon, and a dark blue sky, with white stars.
Sunrise/Dawn
Example of the sun rising in the horizon.
Lasts 1 ½ minutes.
- A period between nighttime and daytime, when Moon sets on the West horizon and the Sun rises on the East horizon.
- All blocks that are in direct vertical view of the sky get 1 shade of lighting brighter every 10 seconds.
- The sky near the rising sun will have a red glow when the sun rises.
- The sun will slowly shrink to its 8x8 pixel size while rising.
Clock
In the Halloween Update, Notch added a clock that lets you tell the time in the Minecraft world. It's crafted like this:
Template:Grid/Crafting Table
Note: The clock will spin uselessly in The Nether, because time does not exist there.
Trivia
- In the Minecraft sky, the Sun and Moon always appear in the same position relative to the stars.
- When looking directly at a star that is uncovered by a cloud, it will appear over the cross-hair.
- Day and night do not simulate when the game is paused in single player.
- Passage of time in the game generally stops when you alt-tab away from the game (due to the menu appearing). To get around this, you can open a chest, your inventory, or a furnace, or even a dispenser. This will prevent the menu from appearing when you switch tasks, allowing for time passage while you're in a different window.
Time Measurements
The following are approximations of Minecraft Time to Real Time:
- 1 Minecraft Minute ≈ 0.8 seconds of gameplay.
- 1 Minecraft Hour = 50 seconds of gameplay.
- 1 Minecraft Day = 20 minutes of gameplay
- 1 Minecraft Week ≈ 2.3 hours of gameplay.
- 1 Minecraft Month ≈ 10 hours of gameplay.
- 1 Minecraft Year ≈ 5 days of gameplay.
The approximation of Real Time to Minecraft Time:
- 1 hour of gameplay = 3 Minecraft Days.
- 1 day of gameplay = 72 Minecraft Days.
- 1 week of gameplay ≈ 1.4 Minecraft Years, ≈ 16 Minecraft Months, = 72 Minecraft Weeks, ≈ 500 Minecraft Days
- 1 month of gameplay = 6 Minecraft Years, = 72 Minecraft Months, ≈ 310 Minecraft Weeks, ≈ 2200 Minecraft Days
- 1 year of gameplay = 72 Minecraft Years, ≈ 860 Minecraft Months, ≈ 3800 Minecraft Weeks, ≈ 26000 Minecraft Days