Home > Sun & Moon > Day and Night World Map
Day and Night World Map
The map below shows the current position of the Sun and the Moon. It shows which parts of the Earth are in daylight and which are in night.
See where the moon is over the horizon
Change time and date
| < 4 weeks | 4 weeks > | March equinox | |||
| < 1 day | 1 day > | June solstice | |||
| < 12 hours | 12 hours > | September equinox | |||
| < 6 hours | 6 hours > | December solstice | |||
| < 1 hour | 1 hour > | Now/Current time | |||
| < 10 minutes | 10 minutes > |
Map notes
- The day and night parts of the Earth shown are as of Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 01:18:00 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 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, May 2, 2012 at 01:18:00 UTC the Sun is at its zenith at these coordinates:| Latitude: | 15° 27' | North |
| Longitude: | 159° 28' | East |
The ground speed of the movement is currently 447.21 meters/second, 1609.9 km/hour, 1000.4 miles/hour or 869.3 knots.The table below shows the Sun position compared to the time and date above:
| Time | Longitude difference | Latitude difference | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| later | Degrees | Distance | Direction | Degrees | Distance | Direction | Distance |
| 1 minute | 0° 15' 00.1" | 16.67 mi | west | 0° 00' 00.7" | 0.01 mi | north | 16.67 mi |
| 1 hour | 15° 00' 04.0" | 1000.24 mi | west | 0° 00' 44.5" | 0.85 mi | north | 1000.21 mi |
| 24 hours | 0° 01' 35.7" | 1.77 mi | west | 0° 17' 42.1" | 20.29 mi | north | 20.36 mi |
Position of the Moon
On Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 01:18:00 UTC the Moon is at its zenith at these coordinates:| Latitude: | 1° 04' | North |
| Longitude: | 75° 47' | West |
The ground speed of the movement is currently 448.22 meters/second, 1613.6 km/hour, 1002.6 miles/hour or 871.3 knots.The table below shows the Moon position compared to the time and date above:
| Time | Longitude difference | Latitude difference | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| later | Degrees | Distance | Direction | Degrees | Distance | Direction | Distance |
| 1 minute | 0° 14' 29.7" | 16.71 mi | west | 0° 00' 13.0" | 0.25 mi | south | 16.71 mi |
| 1 hour | 14° 29' 44.9" | 1002.58 mi | west | 0° 13' 01.8" | 14.92 mi | south | 1002.73 mi |
| 24 hours | 12° 19' 17.7" | 852.21 mi | east | 5° 16' 21.6" | 362.30 mi | south | 925.59 mi |
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Island | Wed 1:18 PM | 872 km | 542 miles | 471 nm | |
| Palikir | Wed 12:18 PM | 955 km | 593 miles | 516 nm | |
| Majuro | Wed 1:18 PM | 1574 km | 978 miles | 850 nm | |
| Guam (Hagåtña) | Wed 11:18 AM | 1602 km | 995 miles | 865 nm | |
| Yaren | Wed 1:18 PM | 1948 km | 1211 miles | 1052 nm | |
| Tarawa | Wed 1:18 PM | 2149 km | 1335 miles | 1160 nm | |
| Honiara | Wed 12:18 PM | 2752 km | 1710 miles | 1486 nm | |
| Midway | Tue 2:18 PM | 2771 km | 1722 miles | 1496 nm | |
| Melekeok | Wed 10:18 AM | 2847 km | 1769 miles | 1537 nm | |
| Tokyo | Wed 10:18 AM | 2983 km | 1854 miles | 1611 nm | |
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
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?
- Event Time Announcer/Fixed Time – Show local times worldwide for your event.

