The FAA's legal definition of night begins at the end of evening civil twilight - not sunset - and the currency window for carrying passengers runs from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise.
Radio Hangar explores Federal Aviation Regulation Sixty-One Point Fifty-Seven, Recent Flight Experience, and the Difference Between Being Legal to Carry Passengers and Being Ready To.
FAR 61.57 requires three takeoffs and landings within 90 days to carry passengers - but night, tailwheel, and instrument rules add critical layers every pilot needs to know.