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, November 4, 2009 at 01:28:00 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' 60" longitude and in a southerly direction by 0° 00' 46" latitude.

The average ground speed of the movement is currently 447.36 meters/second, 1610.5 km/hour, 1000.7 miles/hour or 869.6 knots.

Locations with the Sun near zenith

Location	Local time	Distance			Direction
Australia - Queensland - Mackay	Wed 11:28 AM	810 km	504 miles	438 nm	SW
Australia - Queensland - Townsville	Wed 11:28 AM	867 km	538 miles	468 nm	WSW
Australia - Queensland - Cairns	Wed 11:28 AM	890 km	553 miles	481 nm	WSW
Solomon Islands - Honiara	Wed 12:28 PM	941 km	585 miles	508 nm	NE
Australia - Queensland - Rockhampton	Wed 11:28 AM	955 km	594 miles	516 nm	SSW
Papua New Guinea - Port Moresby	Wed 11:28 AM	982 km	610 miles	530 nm	NW
Australia - Queensland - Bundaberg	Wed 11:28 AM	1063 km	660 miles	574 nm	S
Australia - Queensland - Hervey Bay	Wed 11:28 AM	1104 km	686 miles	596 nm	S
Australia - Queensland - Sunshine Coast	Wed 11:28 AM	1258 km	781 miles	679 nm	S
Australia - Queensland - Brisbane	Wed 11:28 AM	1343 km	835 miles	725 nm	S

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

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