Tropic of Cancer

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A Dictionary of Astronomy

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

Tropic of Cancer

Tropic of Cancer parallel of latitude at 23°30′ north of the equator; it is the northern boundary of the tropics . This parallel marks the farthest point north at which the sun can be seen directly overhead at noon; north of the parallel the sun appears less than 90° from the southern horizon at any day of the year. The sun reaches its vertical position over the Tropic of Cancer at about June 22, the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. When the Tropic of Cancer was named, the sun was in the constellation Cancer at the time of the summer solstice.

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Tropic of Cancer

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | Â© A Dictionary of Astronomy 1997, originally published by Oxford University Press 1997. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Tropic of Cancer The latitude on Earth at which the Sun lies directly overhead at noon on the June solstice, when it reaches its most northerly declination. The Tropic of Cancer lies at a latitude of about 23½° north.

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