Is sunrise calculated at sea level?

I'll try to answer. the equation for calculating sunrise actually kind off complicated so in short, for every

4,921 ft above sea level you are, the sun will raise 1 minute earlier and set 1 minute later. so your sunsets should be about 18 seconds EARLIER the the paper's. I have 2 possible explanations for the difference.

(1) if you live south of the papers you got the info from your sunrise will be later.

(2) your getting sun raise confused with dawn:

Sunrise is the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears above the horizon in the east.

There are also more technical definitions of dawn, including the following:

Astronomical dawn

the moment after which the sky is no longer completely dark; formally defined as the time at which the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon in the morning.[1]

Nautical dawn

the time at which there is enough sunlight for the horizon and some objects to be distinguishable; formally, when the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon in the morning.[1]

Civil dawn

that time at which there is enough light for objects to be distinguishable, so that outdoor activities can commence; formally, when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon in the morning.[1]

Solar dawn

that time at which the leading edge of the sun reaches the horizon in the morning, ignoring the effect of atmospheric refraction.

(3) or the Donald Rumsfeld explanation: There are known knowns; there are things we know we know.

We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

it's all allot more confusing one might think, but I hope that helps some :)

Sunrise is calculated at sea level when the center of the sun is 50 minutes of arc below the horizon. The sunrise and set times listed in the paper are probably for the nearest big city. Both latitude and longitude effect sunrise/set times. In the winter the farther north of that city the shorter your day, sunrise will be later and sunset will be earlier. In the summer you day will be longer than the city if your located north of it. Your longitude determines where your located in a time zone. Eastern Standard Time is centered on 75° West longitude,Central Standard Time 90° W. longitude, Mountain Standard Time 105° W, and Pacific Standard Time 120° W. For every degree west of the city your sunrise and sunset occur 4 minutes later So if you're located west of the city by 2° your sunrise/set will be 8 minutes later.

Checkout the USNO website for actual sunrise/set times for your location

http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applica...