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 Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 22:58:00 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 Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 22:58:00 UTC the Sun is at its zenith at these coordinates:| Latitude: | 17° 24' | North |
| Longitude: | 165° 40' | West |
The ground speed of the movement is currently 442.76 meters/second, 1593.9 km/hour, 990.4 miles/hour or 860.7 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' 00.0" | 16.51 mi | west | 0° 00' 00.7" | 0.01 mi | north | 16.51 mi |
| 1 hour | 15° 00' 01.7" | 990.25 mi | west | 0° 00' 39.8" | 0.76 mi | north | 990.22 mi |
| 24 hours | 0° 00' 37.4" | 0.69 mi | west | 0° 15' 47.9" | 18.11 mi | north | 18.12 mi |
Position of the Moon
On Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 22:58:00 UTC the Moon is at its zenith at these coordinates:| Latitude: | 21° 21' | South |
| Longitude: | 56° 05' | East |
The ground speed of the movement is currently 414.54 meters/second, 1492.3 km/hour, 927.3 miles/hour or 805.8 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' 23.2" | 15.46 mi | west | 0° 00' 02.5" | 0.05 mi | north | 15.46 mi |
| 1 hour | 14° 23' 16.7" | 927.07 mi | west | 0° 02' 40.2" | 3.06 mi | north | 927.21 mi |
| 24 hours | 14° 19' 10.3" | 922.66 mi | east | 1° 42' 37.6" | 117.68 mi | north | 935.32 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honolulu | Tue 12:58 PM | 928 km | 576 miles | 501 nm | |
| Midway | Tue 11:58 AM | 1695 km | 1053 miles | 915 nm | |
| Kiritimati | Wed 12:58 PM | 1945 km | 1208 miles | 1050 nm | |
| Baker Island | Tue 10:58 AM | 2241 km | 1393 miles | 1210 nm | |
| Majuro | Wed 10:58 AM | 2756 km | 1713 miles | 1488 nm | |
| Tarawa | Wed 10:58 AM | 2928 km | 1820 miles | 1581 nm | |
| Wake Island | Wed 10:58 AM | 2931 km | 1821 miles | 1583 nm | |
| Fakaofo | Wed 11:58 AM | 3023 km | 1878 miles | 1632 nm | |
| Funafuti | Wed 10:58 AM | 3314 km | 2059 miles | 1789 nm | |
| Apia | Wed 11:58 AM | 3519 km | 2186 miles | 1900 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.

