Drag to spin the globe, scroll or pinch to zoom from full-planet view down to coastline level, and click any point for its coordinates and approximate local solar time.
Curious about the planet's magnetic field? See the Earth magnetosphere in 3D.
Earth 3D Globe - Live Day & Night Map
FreetoolOnline editorial teamSee at a glance where on Earth it is day and where it is night RIGHT NOW - the lit half of the globe follows the real sun, computed from your device's clock.
The time slider previews the day/night line up to 12 hours ahead or behind - watch dawn sweep across a continent - and the Now button snaps back to live.
The map is drawn in the clean vector style of an airline seatback display: real coastlines from the public-domain Natural Earth dataset, a 30-degree grid, and a soft atmosphere rim.
How accurate is the day and night line, and what is only stylized
The lit half is not a stored image; a standard NOAA solar-position approximation (solar declination plus the equation of time) places the sun to within about one degree of its true position, which is close enough to trust the sunrise edge but is not an astronomical ephemeris. Two things are deliberately stylized and should not be read as data: the soft glow along the night side is a coastal lighting effect, not real city-light or population brightness, so it does not show where people actually live. The local time the globe reports is sun time derived from longitude, not civil clock time, so it can differ from a country's official timezone by an hour or more wherever wide zones or daylight-saving rules apply. Because the terminator is recomputed rather than looked up, it stays correct for any moment you scrub to, not just the present.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Earth 3D Globe - Live Day & Night Map do?
See at a glance where on Earth it is day and where it is night RIGHT NOW - the lit half of the globe follows the real sun, computed from your device's clock.
When should I reach for earth 3d globe - live day & night map?
The time slider previews the day/night line up to 12 hours ahead or behind - watch dawn sweep across a continent - and the Now button snaps back to live.
What complementary tools work well alongside earth 3d globe - live day & night map?
A live clock line shows your local time and UTC before the 3D engine even finishes loading, and the panel lists the sun's current overhead point.