Day Night Map
See the night hemisphere sweep across the planet in real time, with the live subsolar point — click anywhere for today's sunrise and sunset there.
Quick answer: Live world map of day and night with the terminator line. Coverage: Worldwide. No account is required.
Worked examples
- Equinox comparison — Calculated day length is about 12h 07m at the Equator and changes with latitude because of solar geometry and the sunrise/sunset convention used.
- Golden hour — The useful light window changes with latitude, season and local horizon. Treat calculated times as planning guidance, especially around obstructed horizons.
- Clock time — Solar geometry and civil clock time are different layers. Time zones and daylight-saving rules shift the clock label, not the Sun's position.
Limits & appropriate use
Solar arithmetic's limits are small but real: the official zenith encodes average refraction, not today's atmosphere; coordinates are rounded to your input's precision; and terrain is absent unless you add height yourself — a mountain rises the sun late and the formulas won't know. Time adds the political layer: zones and DST are human law, and western edges of big zones (Spain, western China) make solar noon wander hours from clock noon. Every output here therefore carries its convention and both clocks, because an unanchored sunrise time is an argument, not a fact.
Lunar and seasonal outputs carry their own gentle limits: phase from the synodic approximation is hours-precise, which outruns every planning need but not ephemeris science; day length is geometric daylight, not sunshine, and clouds belong to climate's department. Escalation is rare and well-defined — astronomical almanacs and ephemerides for science, terrain-aware apps for mountain photography, and the tz database maintainers whenever a government invents a new DST rule at 48 hours' notice, as they delight in doing.
- Science-grade ephemerides → astronomical almanacs/JPL horizons.
- Mountain sunrise/sunset → terrain-aware horizon adjustments.
- Legal daylight definitions → jurisdictional statutes (they vary!).
Data & methodology
Solar times use the NOAA algorithm with the 90.833° official zenith; lunar phase uses the synodic cycle. Timezone geometry comes from the open tz database resolved locally in your browser.
For source details, licences and model limitations, see Data Sources and Methodology.
Related tools
Category: Sun & Moon. Results are intended for everyday analysis and planning unless a page explicitly states otherwise.
How to use
- 1Watch the night hemisphere update live.
- 2Click any point for its sunrise and sunset.
- 3Toggle live updates or refresh manually.
Frequently asked questions
What is the terminator?
The moving line between day and night — the set of places where the Sun is exactly on the horizon right now.
What is the subsolar point?
The spot on Earth where the Sun is directly overhead at this moment (marked with a sun dot).
How often does the map update?
Every 60 seconds in live mode, or manually with the refresh button.
How are sunrise and sunset computed?
The NOAA solar algorithm with the civil 90.833° zenith definition, for the clicked point and today's date.
Why is the night area not exactly half the map?
It is half the globe — the terminator only looks uneven because flat maps stretch the poles.