What does the equator circle?

What does the equator circle?

The Equator represents the great invisible circle around the Earth that is everywhere equidistant from the geographic poles and lies in a plane perpendicular to the Earth’s axis. The Equator divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. In other words, it is the line with 0° latitude.

Which way does the equator go?

The equator is 0 degrees latitude, and the prime meridian is 0 degrees longitude. The equator is the halfway point between the North Pole and the South Pole. It runs from side to side across the middle of the Earth through parts of South America, Africa, and Asia.

Does the equator move?

Equatorial Shift These occur due to the spinning of the Earth, which creates winds that push ocean waters to the north in the Northern Hemisphere, and to the south in the Southern hemisphere. The only way for the equator to move is for the spin axis of the Earth — the poles — to move.

What is the area around the equator?

The tropics are the region of Earth surrounding the Equator. The tropics are also referred to as the tropical zone and the torrid zone (see geographical zone).

Why is the equator called a great circle?

A great circle has the same boundary and same centre point as its sphere. Great circles are seen on all meridians on Earth. All the lines of longitude meet at the poles, intersecting the Earth in half. Thus a great circle always splits the Earth into two halves, so that the Equator is a great circle.

How do you explain the equator to a child?

An equator is an imaginary line around the middle of a planet or other celestial body. It is halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole, at 0 degrees latitude. An equator divides the planet into a Northern Hemisphere and a Southern Hemisphere.

Is the Antarctic Circle north or South equator?

The Antarctic Circle is a parallel of latitude on the Earth at approximately 66.5 degrees south of the equator. On the day of the southern summer solstice (around December 22 each year), an observer on the Antarctic Circle will see the Sun above the horizon for a full 24 hours.

Is Greenwich on the equator?

The Equator and Prime Meridian are circles that stretch all the way around the Earth. The Equator separates the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The Prime Meridian runs through Greenwich, England and is at 0° longitude.

What direction does the Earth rotate?

Its rotation direction is prograde, or west to east, which appears counterclockwise when viewed from above the North Pole, and it is common to all the planets in our solar system except Venus and Uranus, according to NASA.

Do you weigh less at equator?

Yes, you weigh less on the equator than at the North or South Pole, but the difference is small. This exaggerated illustration shows how the earth bulges at the equator. As a result, people at sea level at the equator are farther from earth’s center and experience less gravity than people at sea level at the poles.

Does the equator have seasons?

Equatorial Climates Twice a year, during the spring and autumn equinoxes, the sun passes directly over the Equator. Even during the rest of the year, equatorial regions often experience a hot climate with little seasonal variation. As a result, many equatorial cultures recognize two seasons—wet and dry.

Which is the greatest circle?

The Equator
The Equator is the only east-west line that is a great circle. All other parallels (lines of latitude) get smaller as you get near the poles.

What is the equator and where is it?

What Is The Equator? The Equator is the imaginary on the Earth’s surface that is equidistant from the two poles of the Earth, thus dividing the planet into the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres. The length of the Equator is about 40,075 km, and 78.7% of the imaginary line passes through water and the rest through the land.

Which two countries does the equator pass through?

The equator passes through São Tomé and Príncipe. The Equator is the imaginary on the Earth’s surface that is equidistant from the two poles of the Earth, thus dividing the planet into the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres.

Which way does the Earth rotate faster at the equator?

Near the Equator, points are rotating faster than at the poles. The Equator divides the planet into two halves. The northern half is called the Northern Hemisphere. The southern half is called the Southern Hemisphere.

What tricks can you do at the equator?

Tour guides here will demonstrate tricks which are supposedly possible only on the Equator, such as water flowing both counter-clockwise and clockwise down a drain due to Coriolis effect, balancing eggs on end or weakening of muscles due to latitude, although these has been debunked as urban myths or simply bad science.