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, March 22, 2008 at 22:16:00 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' 11" longitude and in a northerly direction by 0° 00' 59" latitude.

The average ground speed of the movement is currently 463.85 meters/second, 1669.9 km/hour, 1037.6 miles/hour or 901.7 knots.

Locations with the Sun near zenith

Location	Local time	Distance			Direction
Kiribati - Christmas Island - Kiritimati	Sun 12:16 PM	563 km	350 miles	304 nm	W
France - Marquesas Islands - Taiohae	Sat 12:46 PM	1807 km	1123 miles	975 nm	SE
France - Tahiti - Papeete	Sat 12:16 PM	2079 km	1292 miles	1123 nm	S
U.S.A. - Hawaii - Hilo	Sat 12:16 PM	2084 km	1295 miles	1125 nm	N
Kiribati - Phoenix Islands - Rawaki	Sun 11:16 AM	2137 km	1328 miles	1154 nm	WSW
U.S.A. - Hawaii - Wailuku	Sat 12:16 PM	2239 km	1391 miles	1209 nm	NNW
U.S.A. - Hawaii - Honolulu	Sat 12:16 PM	2319 km	1441 miles	1252 nm	NNW
Tokelau - Tokelau - Fakaofo	Sat 12:16 PM	2392 km	1486 miles	1291 nm	WSW
Cook Islands - Rarotonga	Sat 12:16 PM	2623 km	1630 miles	1417 nm	SSW
American Samoa - Pago Pago	Sat 11:16 AM	2641 km	1641 miles	1426 nm	SW

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• Moon Phase Calculator – Calculate Moon Phases for any year
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More information

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

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