One turn of the Earth is one day

The Earth spins once a day about an axis that leans over. Watch where the light falls as it turns, and see why a place near the pole travels so much less far in a day than a place on the equator.

One full turn is one day. The lit half always faces the Sun; the surface carries the marked place round through it.

Speed of the marked place: 1,040km/h
How far it travels in one day: 24,947km

What this scene shows, in words

One full turn is one day. The lit half always faces the Sun; the surface carries the marked place round through it.

The Sun — a sphere giving off the light in this scene.
Earth — a sphere turning 1 time per cycle, on an axis tilted 23.5 degrees, with a day and night side, with lines of latitude, with 2 places marked on its surface: Marked place, On the equator.

The values above change as the scene plays and as you move the controls; they are read out again whenever it is paused.

Visual chosen by AI, drawn by our tested code

The Sun does not go round you

Nothing in this picture moves except the Earth turning on the spot. The lit half stays pointing at the Sun the whole time — what changes is which part of the surface is in it. Sunrise is the moment the marked place crosses into the light, and sunset is the moment it leaves. The Sun rising in the east follows from the direction of the spin, not from any movement of the Sun.

The lean is what makes the poles different

With the axis upright, the line between day and night passes exactly through both poles and everywhere on Earth gets twelve hours of each. Lean the axis over and that stops being true: one pole tips into the light and stays there while the globe turns underneath it. That is midnight sun, and it is a consequence of the tilt alone.

Set Axis tilt to 0 and watch the day/night line cut through both poles; take it to 90° and the top of the globe never leaves the light.

Check your understanding

It is night where you are. What has actually happened?

Pick one to check yourself.