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 Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 10:24:00 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 14° 59' 57" longitude and in a southerly direction by 0° 00' 43" latitude.

The average ground speed of the movement is currently 444.44 meters/second, 1600.0 km/hour, 994.2 miles/hour or 863.9 knots.

Locations with the Sun near zenith

Location	Local time	Distance			Direction
Namibia - Windhoek *	Sun 12:24 PM	718 km	446 miles	387 nm	SSW
Angola - Lubango	Sun 11:24 AM	718 km	446 miles	387 nm	WNW
Zambia - Lusaka	Sun 12:24 PM	900 km	559 miles	486 nm	E
Congo Dem.Rep. - Lubumbashi	Sun 12:24 PM	980 km	609 miles	529 nm	ENE
Botswana - Gaborone	Sun 12:24 PM	1080 km	671 miles	583 nm	SE
Angola - Luanda	Sun 11:24 AM	1125 km	699 miles	607 nm	NW
Zimbabwe - Harare	Sun 12:24 PM	1190 km	739 miles	642 nm	E
South Africa - Pretoria	Sun 12:24 PM	1317 km	818 miles	711 nm	SE
South Africa - Johannesburg	Sun 12:24 PM	1333 km	828 miles	720 nm	SE
South Africa - Vereeniging	Sun 12:24 PM	1382 km	859 miles	746 nm	SE

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?