Day and Night World Map

The map below shows the current position of the Sun and indicates which parts of the Earth are in day and which are in night.

Map notes

• The day and night parts of the Earth shown are as of Saturday, July 4, 2009 at 00:00:00 UTC.
• The Sun's position is marked with this symbol:. At this location, the Sun will be at its zenith (directly overhead) in relation to an observer.
• The Moon's position is marked with this symbol:. At this location, the Moon will be at its zenith in relation to an observer. Note that the symbol is not showing the current phase of the Moon.
• Different shades of darkness are used to indicate night; these shades are in order from lightest to darkest:
  • Civil Twilight (lightest shade)
  • Nautical Twilight
  • Astronomical Twilight
  • Night, no twilight (darkest)
• Latitude circles
  • NPC – Northern Polar Circle, or Arctic Circle, is at latitude 66°34' N. At locations north of the Arctic Circle, the Sun is visible all day and night during a period before and after the June solstice.
  • NT – Northern Tropic, or Tropic of Cancer, is at latitude 23°26' N and is the northernmost latitude at which the Sun can be directly overhead (this occurs during June solstice, around June 21).
  • ST – Southern Tropic, or Tropic of Capricorn, is at latitude 23°26' S S and is the southernmost latitude at which the Sun can be directly overhead (this occurs during December solstice, around December 21).
  • SPC – Southern Polar Circle, or Antarctic Circle, is at latitude 66°34' S. South of this latitude, the Sun is visible all day and night during summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Map is generated based on images from NASA

Position of the Sun

During the next hour, the Sun's position relative to Earth's surface will move in an westerly direction by 14° 59' 53" longitude and in a southerly direction by 0° 00' 13" latitude.

The average ground speed of the movement is currently 427.50 meters/second, 1539.0 km/hour, 956.3 miles/hour or 831.0 knots.

Locations with the Sun near zenith

Location	Local time	Distance			Direction
U.S.A. - Midway Islands - Midway	Fri 1:00 PM	610 km	379 miles	330 nm	NbE
Marshall Islands - Majuro	Sat 12:00 Noon	2038 km	1266 miles	1101 nm	SWbS
U.S.A. - Hawaii - Honolulu	Fri 2:00 PM	2179 km	1354 miles	1177 nm	E
U.S.A. - Hawaii - Wailuku	Fri 2:00 PM	2324 km	1444 miles	1255 nm	E
U.S.A. - Hawaii - Hilo	Fri 2:00 PM	2494 km	1550 miles	1347 nm	E
Kiribati - Tarawa	Sat 12:00 Noon	2531 km	1573 miles	1367 nm	SSW
Micronesia - Kosrea - Lelu	Sat 11:00 AM	2750 km	1709 miles	1485 nm	SW
Micronesia - Ponape - Kolonia	Sat 11:00 AM	2964 km	1842 miles	1601 nm	SWbW

Astronomy calculators

• Seasons Calculator
• Moon Calculator – find times for moonrise, moonset and more
• Moon Phase Calculator – Calculate Moon Phases for any year
• Sunrise Calculator – find times for sunrise, sunset and more

More information

• September Equinox
• December Solstice
• Vernal Equinox
• June Solstice

Related time zone tools

• The World Clock – current times around the world
• Personal World Clock – shows just the cities you need
• Meeting Planner – find a suitable time for an international meeting
• Time Zone Converter – If it is 3 pm in New York, what time is it in Sydney?
• Fixed Time Calculator – If it's 3 pm in New York, what time is it in the rest of the world?