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Also known as the Southern Tropic, the Tropic of Capricorn is one of five great parallels (circles of latitude) found on a map or globe . The Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer were delineated because they are two places in the hemispheres where, at noon, the sun can be directly overhead. These lines of demarcation were crucial to ancient travelers and navigators who used the sky for guidance.
The parallels are the imaginary circles that indicate the positions on Earth in relation to its latitude, that is, east and west. Together with the meridians, which are imaginary circles that intersect the north and south poles and the equator, they form the geographic coordinate system. Forgive the redundancy, all geographic parallels are parallel to the equator and also perpendicular to the longitudes at the points of intersection.
Unlike latitudes, where the equator is the center point, the prime meridian has been set as the reference point for meridians throughout history. Meridians are important in defining time zones. Due to the shape of our planet, the parallels become smaller towards the poles than near the equatorial plane. There are five main parallels that serve to explain the correlation between the Earth, the Sun, and the weather.
Parallels or lines of latitude
The five great parallels or lines of latitude mark specific points on Earth:
- The equator. It is probably the best known circle of latitude, and is located at zero degrees latitude. Its circumference is about 40,233 kilometers and divides the planet into the northern and southern hemispheres. The latitudes of the other circles are determined by their distance north or south of the equator.
- The Arctic Circle . It is located at about 66.5 degrees north latitude, that is, 66.5 degrees north of the equator.
- The Antarctic Circle . It is located approximately at 66.5 degrees south latitude, that is, 66.5 degrees south of the equator.
- The Tropic of Cancer . It is located at about 23.5 degrees north latitude, that is, 23.5 degrees north of the equator.
- The Tropic of Capricorn. Located at about 23.5 degrees south latitude, that is, 23.5 degrees south of the equator, this circle marks the southernmost point on Earth where the sun is directly visible at noon. To be more precise, it marks the point where the sun is vertical at noon on December 21, marking the beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere.
What is the Tropic of Capricorn for?
In addition to serving to divide the Earth into different parts and mark the southern limit of the tropics, the Tropic of Capricorn, like the Tropic of Cancer, is also important for the amount of insolation on Earth and the creation of the seasons.
Solar insolation is the amount of direct exposure of the Earth to sunlight from incoming radiation. It varies over the Earth’s surface depending on the amount of direct sunlight striking the surface and is greatest when directly over the subsolar point, which migrates between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer each year based on the axial tilt of the earth.
It is during the December or winter solstice when the subsolar point is in the Tropic of Capricorn and it is also the time when the southern hemisphere receives the greatest solar insolation. Therefore, that is when the southern hemisphere summer begins. In addition, it is also when the areas located above the Antarctic Circle receive 24 hours of daylight, since more solar radiation is diverted to the south due to the axial tilt of the Earth.
Countries crossed by the Tropic of Capricorn
- Chili
- Argentina
- Paraguayan
- Brazil
- Namibia
- botswana
- South Africa
- Mozambique
- Madagascar
- Australia
Sources
- Bidegain, M. ((2010). ASTRONOMICAL COMPONENT.
- Fernandez-Coppel, I. (2021). Geographic locations. Geographic coordinates .
