How to read the globe
The camera faces the Sun while the Earth turns beneath it. Change the tilt to see the southern sky, equator or northern sky. Clocks on the far side fade until their meridians return to view.
The Turning Earth
Globe: the Earth from space
Watch the Earth turn beneath the Sun from space. Change the tilt to explore the southern sky, equator or northern sky. Replay 31 March 2026 to watch every sky hand point straight up at its own midnight.
The Earth from space. The dusk line sweeps in from the left and the gold arc marks midnight: each clock strikes its own midnight as the arc crosses it, and on 31 March 2026 every Crux hand reads exactly zero at that moment. Clocks over the edge of the Earth fade until it turns them back into view.
Both poles at once: the same Earth, the same moment, turning clockwise beneath the Southern Cross and anticlockwise beneath Polaris.
The Earth as a clock face, seen from above one pole, with the Sun held at the top and midnight at the bottom.
The world laid flat. The night shadow and the gold midnight line sweep west across the map, and each clock strikes its own midnight as the line passes beneath it, reading exactly zero on 31 March 2026.
The gold midnight arc
The gold arc marks midnight. Select a clock to read its local standard time, latitude and midnight-zero meridian. A gold halo appears as that clock reaches midnight.
Replay the relay
Choose Replay 31 March 2026 to follow midnight around the world. At midnight ending that date, each Crux hand reads zero on its calibrated meridian. Pause or change the playback speed to study a crossing.
A sky hand and a time hand
The hour and minute hands run clockwise. The sky hand follows its hemisphere: clockwise in the south and anticlockwise in the north. It follows sidereal time, one turn in about 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds.
The 24 midnight-zero meridians
Listed in the order midnight reaches them. Latitude never moves the hand, so each place is a real spot on its meridian. Your zone is highlighted.
| Zone | Meridian | Latitude | Place on the meridian | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC+12 | 178.7214° E | 17.70° S | Off Ovalau, Fiji | At sea, ~1.7 km off the west coast of Ovalau. |
| UTC+11 | 163.6804° E | 19.70° S | Belep Islands, New Caledonia | |
| UTC+10 | 148.6393° E | 33.00° S | Cumnock, New South Wales | Reference anchor: Parkes Observatory latitude, 35 km due east of the dish. |
| UTC+9 | 133.5982° E | 34.58° N | Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, Japan | The observatory dome is ~350 m west of the meridian. |
| UTC+8 | 118.5572° E | 32.07° N | Nanjing (Pukou), China | |
| UTC+7 | 103.5161° E | 13.41° N | Siem Reap Province, Cambodia | |
| UTC+6 | 88.4750° E | 24.37° N | Paba, Rajshahi, Bangladesh | |
| UTC+5 | 73.4340° E | 33.90° N | Murree, Pakistan | |
| UTC+4 | 58.3929° E | 23.59° N | Muscat (Bawshar), Oman | |
| UTC+3 | 43.3518° E | 43.49° N | Nizhny Chegem, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia | |
| UTC+2 | 28.3108° E | 25.75° S | Pretoria (Mamelodi), South Africa | |
| UTC+1 | 13.2697° E | 52.52° N | Berlin (Charlottenburg), Germany | |
| UTC+0 | 1.7714° W | 51.17° N | Amesbury, Wiltshire (by Stonehenge) | |
| UTC−1 | 16.8125° W | 28.30° N | Santiago del Teide, Tenerife | No UTC-1 land on this meridian; the Canaries keep UTC+0. |
| UTC−2 | 31.8535° W | 72.58° N | Greenland ice sheet | |
| UTC−3 | 46.8946° W | 23.19° S | Jundiai, Sao Paulo, Brazil | |
| UTC−4 | 61.9357° W | 16.24° S | Concepcion, Santa Cruz, Bolivia | |
| UTC−5 | 76.9767° W | 38.90° N | Washington, D.C. | |
| UTC−6 | 92.0178° W | 30.22° N | Lafayette, Louisiana | |
| UTC−7 | 107.0589° W | 38.55° N | Gunnison County, Colorado | |
| UTC−8 | 122.0999° W | 37.39° N | Mountain View, California | |
| UTC−9 | 137.1410° W | 58.66° N | Mount Crillon, Fairweather Range, Alaska | |
| UTC−10 | 152.1821° W | 16.44° S | Off Maupiti, French Polynesia | At sea, ~5 km east of Maupiti reef. |
| UTC−11 | 167.2231° W | 53.60° N | Unalaska Island, Alaska | No UTC-11 land on this meridian; Alaska keeps UTC-9. |