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 Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 05:14:00 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 Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 05:14:00 UTC the Sun is at its zenith at these coordinates:

Latitude:	21° 58'	South
Longitude:	98° 51'	East

During the next hour, the Sun's position relative to Earth's surface will move in an westerly direction by 14° 59' 46" longitude and in a southerly direction by 0° 00' 22" latitude.

The average ground speed of the movement is currently 430.23 meters/second, 1548.8 km/hour, 962.4 miles/hour or 836.3 knots.

Locations with the Sun near zenith

The following table shows 10 locations with Sun near zenith position in the sky.

Location	Local time	Distance			Direction
Cocos Islands - Bantam	Wed 11:44 AM	1110 km	690 miles	599 nm	N
Australia - Christmas Island - The Settlement	Wed 12:14 PM	1463 km	909 miles	790 nm	NNE
Indonesia - Java - Bogor	Wed 12:14 PM	1905 km	1184 miles	1028 nm	NNE
Indonesia - Java - Bandung	Wed 12:14 PM	1908 km	1186 miles	1030 nm	NNE
Indonesia - Java - Tasikmalaya	Wed 12:14 PM	1910 km	1187 miles	1031 nm	NNE
Indonesia - Java - Jakarta	Wed 12:14 PM	1948 km	1210 miles	1052 nm	NNE
Indonesia - Sumatera - Tanjungkarang	Wed 12:14 PM	1953 km	1213 miles	1054 nm	NNE
Indonesia - Java - Cirebon	Wed 12:14 PM	1980 km	1230 miles	1069 nm	NNE
Indonesia - Java - Yogyakarta	Wed 12:14 PM	1999 km	1242 miles	1079 nm	NE
Indonesia - Java - Tegal	Wed 12:14 PM	2003 km	1245 miles	1081 nm	NE

Symbols Wed means Wednesday, December 2, 2009 (10 places 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?