The Sun is always overhead at noon?

Abstract The conception of many people that the Sun is overhead at noon is a result of the lack of observation of natural phenomena. This article begins by presenting a review of the literature showing researches on the conceptions of students of different school levels and teachers on the subject. It mentions the knowledge of indigenous and other cultures of the past about the passage of the Sun by the zenith during the year. After this, the movement of the Earth around the Sun is discussed showing the regions of our planet that may have the Sun overhead at some time of the year. Different didactic models are also presented, taking into account the heliocentric, geocentric and topocentric referentials to address such contents with teachers and students.