Tropic of Capricorn

This article is about the circle of latitude. For other uses, see Tropic of Capricorn (disambiguation).

World map showing the Tropic of Capricorn
Relationship of Earth's axial tilt (ε) to the tropical and polar circles

The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reaches 90 degrees below the horizon at solar midnight on the June Solstice. Its northern equivalent is the Tropic of Cancer.

The Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five major circles of latitude marked on maps of Earth. Its latitude is currently 23°26′09.8″ (or 23.43606°)[1] south of the Equator, but it is very gradually moving northward, currently at the rate of 0.47 arcseconds, or 15 metres, per year.

  1. ^ "obliquity of the ecliptic (Eps Mean)". Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2012.