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The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's axial tilt; the width of the tropics (in latitude) is twice the tilt.
The Tropic of Cancer, also known as the Northern Tropic, is the Earth's northernmost circle of latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun to its maximum extent. [1] It also reaches 90 degrees below the horizon at solar midnight on the December ...
The Torrid Zone is also known as the tropics. This zone is bounded on the north by the Tropic of Cancer and on the south by the Tropic of Capricorn; these latitudes mark the northern and southern extremes in which the Sun passes [a] directly overhead. This happens once annually on these cusps, but in the tropics proper, the Sun passes overhead ...
The Tropic of Capricorn's position is not fixed, but constantly changes because of a slight wobble in the Earth's longitudinal alignment relative to its orbit around the Sun. Earth's axial tilt varies over a 41,000 year period from about 22.1 to 24.5 degrees and currently resides at about 23.4 degrees. This wobble means that the Tropic of ...
The tropics have been historically defined as lying between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23°26′09.7″ (or 23.43602°) north and south, respectively. [2] According to the American Meteorological Society, the poleward fringe of the subtropics is at latitudes approximately 35° north and south, respectively. [3]
By definition, the positions of the Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle all depend on the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun (the "obliquity of the ecliptic"). If the Earth were "upright" (its axis at right angles to the orbital plane) there would be no Arctic ...
The reason the rain belt is situated near the tropics can be attributed to the fact that the Sun's radiation is strongest near the equator, which is located in the middle of the tropics. This solar radiation generates large amounts of heat near the equator. [1] [2] This causes the air at
A tropical upper tropospheric trough (TUTT), also known as the mid-oceanic trough, [1] is a trough situated in the upper-level (at about 200 hPa) tropics. Its formation is usually caused by the intrusion of energy and wind from the mid-latitudes into the tropics. It can also develop from the inverted trough adjacent to an upper level anticyclone.