Tropic Of Cancer
The Earth showing the Tropic of Cancer at 23.5 degrees north of the equator.
The Tropic of Cancer is a parallel of latitude on the Earth, 23.5 degrees north of the equator.
The Tropic of cancer is a parallel that circles around the Earth at a latitude of about 23°22'N.
Tropic of Cancer The line of northern latitude 23.5°, north of which the Sun is never at zenith on any day of the year.
Tropic of Cancer
The Tropic of Cancer, or Northern tropic, is one of five major degree measures or major circle of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. It is the northernmost latitude at which the Sun can appear directly overhead at noon....
The tropic of Cancer is the latitude on Earth at which the Sun appears overhead at noon on the summer solstice, June 21.
tropic of Cancer (NASA SP-7, 1965) The northern parallel of declination, approximately 23 degrees 27' from the celestial equator, reached by the sun at its maximum declination, or the corresponding parallel on the earth.
equatorial regions (NASA Thesaurus) Areas on or near the Earth's equator; regions between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn (23 degrees 27 minutes North or South of the Equator).
Some 60 degrees below the celestial equator, Crux is well-visible only roughly south of the Tropic of Cancer (a good reason to go to Hawaii). From much of the temperate southern hemisphere, however, the constellation is circumpolar (never setting).
Due, in part, to the precession of the Earth discussed above, the Earth completed its orbit after it has already completed the tropical cycle: for example: for the cycle of the Sun starting directly over the tropic of Cancer then to the tropic of ...
Eratosthenes knew that on the summer solstice at local noon in the Ancient Egyptian city of Swenet (known in Greek as Syene, and in the modern day as Aswan) on the Tropic of Cancer, the sun would appear at the zenith, directly overhead.
This band is bounded on the north by the Tropic of Cancer which is 23.5 degrees north of the equator and is bounded on the south by the Tropic of Capricorn which is 23.5 degrees south of the equator.
Though inconspicuous, the constellation gave its name to the Tropic of Cancer. In ancient times Cancer was where the Sun appeared at its maximum mid-day elevation at the time of the (northern) summer solstice.
If you look at the globe, you'll see the tropic of Cancer at about 23.5 degrees North latitude. This represents the northernmost extent of the Sun's travels throughout the year.
At the solstice, the Sun's rays hit the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees north latitude) straight-on, indicating that the Sun must be north of the equator.
Some three months later, the Sun on the June solstice reaches its northernmost declination for the year at the tropic of Cancer. Six months after the March equinox, the Sun stands at the first point of Libra on the September equinox.
At the time of summer solstice, about June 22, the sun is directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer (see tropics). In the Northern Hemisphere the longest day and shortest night of the year occur on this date, marking the beginning of summer.
The North Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its northernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 23.44 degrees north latitude.
The latitude of most of their cities being below the Tropic of Cancer, these zenial passages would occur twice a year equidistant from the solstice. To represent this position of the sun overhead, the Maya had a god named Diving God.
TROPICS
The tropics are a 3,000 mile (4800 km) wide band around the equator, between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N latitude) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° S latitude).
Select the image to go to the Hargrett Library at the Univ. of Georgia from which this picture came. Note the curved path of the Sun between the Tropic of Cancer (at latitude 23.5° N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (at latitude 23.5° S).
[3019] beta Crucis, also known as Mimosa (because of its colour) or Becrux, is the brightest star in Crux and also among the brightest stars in the sky. It is a blue-white giant visible only south of the Tropic of Cancer.
They are the Tropic of Capricorn, located at 23.5º S, when the Sun is at the zenith on about December 21, and the Tropic of Cancer, found at a latitude of 23.5º N, where the Sun is found at the zenith on about June 21.
Photosphere, Saros Cycle, Season, Solar Constant, Solar Day, Solar Eclipse, Solar System, Solar Wind, Solstice, Spring Tide, Star, Sun Pillar, Sundog, Sunrise, Sunset, Sunspot, Superior Conjunction, Syzygy, Tide, Total Eclipse, Tropic of Cancer, ...
 See also: Cancer, Earth, Time, Sun, Tropic of Capricorn
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