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 Friday, November 6, 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' 59" longitude and in a southerly direction by 0° 00' 45" latitude.

The average ground speed of the movement is currently 446.03 meters/second, 1605.7 km/hour, 997.7 miles/hour or 867.0 knots.

Locations with the Sun near zenith

Location	Local time	Distance			Direction
Australia - Queensland - Mackay	Fri 11:28 AM	759 km	472 miles	410 nm	SW
Australia - Queensland - Townsville	Fri 11:28 AM	836 km	519 miles	451 nm	WSW
Australia - Queensland - Cairns	Fri 11:28 AM	880 km	547 miles	475 nm	W
Australia - Queensland - Rockhampton	Fri 11:28 AM	894 km	555 miles	482 nm	SSW
Solomon Islands - Honiara	Fri 12:28 PM	987 km	613 miles	533 nm	NE
Australia - Queensland - Bundaberg	Fri 11:28 AM	996 km	619 miles	538 nm	S
Papua New Guinea - Port Moresby	Fri 11:28 AM	1028 km	639 miles	555 nm	NW
Australia - Queensland - Hervey Bay	Fri 11:28 AM	1037 km	644 miles	560 nm	S
Australia - Queensland - Sunshine Coast	Fri 11:28 AM	1191 km	740 miles	643 nm	S
Australia - Queensland - Brisbane	Fri 11:28 AM	1276 km	793 miles	689 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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