![]() ![]() The Tropic of Cancer's position is not fixed, but constantly changes because of a slight wobble in the Earth's longitudinal alignment relative to the ecliptic, the plane in which the Earth orbits around the Sun. Of the Tropic of Cancer's intersections with Mexican federal highways, this is the only one where it is precisely marked and the drift from 2005 to 2010 can be seen. The word "tropic" itself comes from the Greek "trope (τροπή)", meaning turn (change of direction, or circumstances), inclination, referring to the fact that the Sun appears to "turn back" at the solstices.ĭrift Carretera 83 (Vía Corta) Zaragoza-Victoria, km 27+800. Due to the precession of the equinoxes, this is no longer the case today the Sun is in Gemini at the June solstice. When this line of latitude was named in the last centuries BCE, the Sun was in the constellation Cancer ( Latin for crab) at the June solstice, the time each year that the Sun reaches its zenith at this latitude. In geopolitics, it is known for being the southern limitation on the mutual defence obligation of NATO, as member states of NATO are not obligated to come to the defence of territory south of the Tropic of Cancer. The positions of these two circles of latitude (relative to the Equator) are dictated by the tilt of Earth's axis of rotation relative to the plane of its orbit, and since the tilt changes, the location of these two circles also changes. These tropics are two of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth, the others being the Arctic and Antarctic circles and the Equator. Its Southern Hemisphere counterpart, marking the most southerly position at which the Sun can be directly overhead, is the Tropic of Capricorn. ![]() Using a continuously updated formula, the circle is currently 23☂6′10.4″ (or 23.43621°) north of the Equator. It also reaches 90 degrees below the horizon at solar midnight on the December Solstice. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun to its maximum extent. ![]() The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. World map showing the Tropic of Cancer Relationship of Earth's axial tilt (ε) to the tropical and polar circles For other uses, see Tropic of Cancer (disambiguation). This article is about the circle of latitude. ![]()
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