Tropic of Cancer

The Tropic of Cancer is the northernmost latitude where the Sun can appear directly overhead at noon, marking the northern limit of the tropics.

Axial tilt: The angle between a rotating body's axis and the perpendicular to its orbital plane. Earth’s tilt sets the farthest north the Sun reaches the zenith.
Tropics: The region of Earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. This latitude marks the tropics’ northern boundary.
Eratosthenes: An ancient Greek scholar who measured Earth’s circumference and contributed to mathematical geography. His geography helped establish the classical system of named terrestrial parallels.
Sahara: The vast desert spanning much of North Africa. The Tropic of Cancer crosses the Sahara, where intense subtropical sunlight meets arid conditions.
Solar declination: The angular distance of the Sun north or south of Earth’s celestial equator. At the June solstice, solar declination reaches the Tropic of Cancer’s latitude.
Tropical climate: A climate regime characterized by warm temperatures throughout the year and distinct rainfall patterns. The latitude is often used to locate tropical climates, though climate boundaries do not exactly follow it.
Ptolemy: A second-century Greek-Egyptian astronomer and geographer whose writings shaped later geographic traditions. His geographic tradition helped transmit the named tropics through medieval scholarship.
India: A country in South Asia extending from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean. The latitude crosses central India and is a prominent line on the country’s maps.
June solstice: The annual solstice when the Sun reaches its greatest northern declination. It is the one day each year when noon sunlight can be vertical at this latitude.
Solar noon: The moment when the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky at a location. The Tropic of Cancer is defined by the Sun’s position at local solar noon.

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