Here comes the sun[light]:An ambient Daylight Clock with time and space controls

A daylight clock uses a 24-hour analog face, with noon at the top and midnight at the bottom, while LEDs mark the daylight interval for a chosen date and location. Its physical controller lets the owner explore how daylight changes: a rotary knob advances time by one week per click, a slider selects latitude, and a three-way switch compares positions at the western, central, or eastern edge of the local time zone. A separate toggle switches between current conditions and these overrides; in ordinary mode, the knob adjusts the lights’ brightness. The project grew from envy of a friend’s ambient daylight clock and from frustration with how time-zone boundaries affect sunrise and sunset, especially in Michigan and elsewhere in the Eastern Time Zone.

The clock combines a 24-hour movement, 48 NeoPixels, an Adafruit Feather RP2040, and a real-time clock that preserves the date and time when unplugged. CircuitPython code uses asyncio to monitor the controls and update the lights, with sunrise and sunset calculations adapted from the friend’s NOAA-based implementation. The maker designed and laser-cut wooden housings, decorated the face with imagery inspired by Bern’s Zytglogge astronomical clock, and made removable wiring connections between the clock and controller. Construction involved setbacks including paint damage, reversed assembly, and a too-shallow control box. Design files and code are available for others; simpler versions can omit the controller, while Wi-Fi and a web interface could replace some hardware.