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, November 7, 2009 at 21:14:00 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

On Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 21:14:00 UTC the Sun is at its zenith at these coordinates:

Latitude:	16° 31'	South
Longitude:	142° 34'	West

During the next hour, the Sun's position relative to Earth's surface will move in an westerly direction by 14° 59' 58" longitude and in a southerly direction by 0° 00' 44" latitude.

The average ground speed of the movement is currently 444.81 meters/second, 1601.3 km/hour, 995.0 miles/hour or 864.6 knots.

Locations with the Sun near zenith

The following table shows 7 locations with Sun near zenith position in the sky.

Location	Local time	Distance			Direction
France - Tahiti - Papeete	Sat 11:14 AM	754 km	468 miles	407 nm	W
France - Marquesas Islands - Taiohae	Sat 11:44 AM	895 km	556 miles	483 nm	NNE
French Polynesia - Gambier Islands	Sat 12:14 PM	1083 km	673 miles	585 nm	SE
Pitcairn Islands - Adamstown	Sat 1:14 PM	1607 km	998 miles	868 nm	SE
Cook Islands - Rarotonga	Sat 11:14 AM	1938 km	1204 miles	1046 nm	WSW
Kiribati - Christmas Island - Kiritimati	Sun 11:14 AM	2601 km	1616 miles	1404 nm	NW
Niue - Alofi	Sat 10:14 AM	2911 km	1809 miles	1572 nm	W

Symbols Sat means Saturday, November 7, 2009 (6 places listed). Sun means Sunday, November 8, 2009 (1 place listed). km means kilometers from origin. miles means miles from origin. nm means nautical miles from origin. All numbers are air distances. Configure this site! (Select AM/PM or 24 hour mode, home place and country)

Advertising

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?