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, October 10, 2009 at 22:24:00 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 15° 00' 10" longitude and in a southerly direction by 0° 00' 57" latitude.

The average ground speed of the movement is currently 460.52 meters/second, 1657.9 km/hour, 1030.1 miles/hour or 895.2 knots.

Locations with the Sun near zenith

Location	Local time	Distance			Direction
Kiribati - Christmas Island - Kiritimati	Sun 12:24 PM	1000 km	622 miles	540 nm	NNE
Tokelau - Tokelau - Fakaofo	Sat 12:24 PM	1343 km	834 miles	725 nm	WSW
Kiribati - Phoenix Islands - Rawaki	Sun 11:24 AM	1375 km	854 miles	742 nm	WNW
American Samoa - Pago Pago	Sat 11:24 AM	1487 km	924 miles	803 nm	SW
Samoa - Apia	Sat 11:24 AM	1560 km	969 miles	842 nm	WSW
France - Tahiti - Papeete	Sat 12:24 PM	1575 km	979 miles	851 nm	SE
Cook Islands - Rarotonga	Sat 12:24 PM	1593 km	990 miles	860 nm	S
Niue - Alofi	Sat 11:24 AM	1764 km	1096 miles	953 nm	SW
Wallis and Futuna - Mata-Utu	Sun 10:24 AM	1977 km	1229 miles	1068 nm	WSW
France - Marquesas Islands - Taiohae	Sat 12:54 PM	2193 km	1362 miles	1184 nm	E

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?