See which half of the world is in daylight right now. The live map shows the day–night line, civil, nautical and astronomical twilight, and the spots where the sun and moon are directly overhead. Slide through the day or pick any date to see how the shadow moves.
Last updated:
● Live
DayCivil twilightNauticalAstronomicalNight☀ Sun overhead☾ Moon overhead
Click anywhere on the map to see the sun's height, sunrise and sunset for that spot.
☀ Sun
☾ Moon
📍 Selected point
Day or night in major cities
City
Local time
Sun
Status
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How to use the Day and Night World Map
Look at the live map: light areas have the sun above the horizon; darker bands are twilight and the darkest blue is full night.
Find the sun and moon: the ☀ icon marks where the sun is directly overhead and the moon icon (drawn in its current phase) where the moon is overhead.
Change the time: drag the time slider or pick a date to see any moment, or press Play day to watch the shadow sweep around the world. Show now returns to live.
Click a place on the map or a city in the table to see the sun's height, sunrise, sunset and day length there.
Save it with Download PNG.
How the map is calculated
For the selected moment the map computes the sun's declination δ (its latitude in the sky) and the longitude where it is noon. For every point on the map with latitude φ and hour angle H (the longitude difference from the subsolar point), the sun's altitude h is:
sin h = sin φ · sin δ + cos φ · cos δ · cos H
Points with h above −0.833° are in daylight (the extra 0.833° accounts for refraction and the sun's radius, so the line matches the moment the top of the sun touches the horizon). The twilight bands follow the standard thresholds below. Sunrise and sunset use the same equation solved for H, with the equation of time to correct for Earth's elliptical orbit.
Band
Sun altitude
What you see
Day
above −0.833°
The sun is (at least partly) above the horizon.
Civil twilight
−0.833° to −6°
Bright sky, outdoor activities possible without lights; brightest planets visible.
Nautical twilight
−6° to −12°
Horizon still visible at sea, brighter stars appear.
Astronomical twilight
−12° to −18°
Sky nearly dark; faint objects still washed out.
Night
below −18°
No sunlight in the sky at all.
Day and night through the year
Date (approx.)
Sun overhead at
Northern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
March equinox (Mar 20)
Equator (0°)
Day ≈ night everywhere
Day ≈ night everywhere
June solstice (Jun 21)
Tropic of Cancer (23.44° N)
Longest days; 24-hour daylight north of the Arctic Circle
Shortest days; polar night south of the Antarctic Circle
September equinox (Sep 22)
Equator (0°)
Day ≈ night everywhere
Day ≈ night everywhere
December solstice (Dec 21)
Tropic of Capricorn (23.44° S)
Shortest days; polar night in the Arctic
Longest days; midnight sun in the Antarctic
Even at the equinoxes, day is a few minutes longer than night because the sun's disc and refraction make sunrise earlier and sunset later than the geometric horizon would.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the day and night line curved?
The line between day and night (the terminator) is a great circle on the globe, always 90° from the point where the sun is overhead. On a flat map that circle becomes a wave. It is straight north–south only at the equinoxes in March and September, when the sun is overhead at the equator; in June and December it tilts the most, so one polar region has 24-hour daylight and the other 24-hour darkness.
What are civil, nautical and astronomical twilight?
They describe how far the sun is below the horizon. Civil twilight: 0 to 6° below, usually bright enough to be outside without lights. Nautical twilight: 6 to 12° below, the horizon is still visible at sea. Astronomical twilight: 12 to 18° below, the sky is almost fully dark. Below 18° it is night.
How accurate is the map?
The sun's position comes from standard low-precision formulas accurate to about 0.01°, which puts the day–night line within a few kilometers. Sunrise and sunset include the usual 0.833° allowance for atmospheric refraction and the sun's radius and are accurate to about a minute at mid latitudes. The moon position is accurate to about 0.3°.
What is the subsolar point?
It is the spot on Earth where the sun is directly overhead (at the zenith) at that moment. Its latitude equals the sun's declination, which moves between about 23.44° N (the Tropic of Cancer, around June 21) and 23.44° S (the Tropic of Capricorn, around December 21). It moves west by 15° of longitude every hour.
Does the map use my location?
No. Nothing is sent anywhere and no location permission is requested. The default selected point is a major city in your device's time zone; click anywhere on the map to choose another point.
Why is the moon icon in a different place from the sun?
The moon orbits the Earth once a month, so it is overhead at a different spot from the sun. Near a new moon the two icons are close together; near a full moon they are on opposite sides of the world, which is why a full moon rises around sunset.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.