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48-573: The position of the Antarctic Circle is not fixed and currently runs 66°33′50.2″ south of the Equator . This figure may be slightly inaccurate because it does not allow for the effects of astronomical nutation , which can be up to 10″. Its latitude depends on the Earth's axial tilt , which fluctuates within a margin of more than 2° over a 41,000-year period, due to tidal forces resulting from

96-404: A and semi-minor axis c , therefore e may be identified as the eccentricity . (See ellipse .) A prolate spheroid with c > a has surface area The prolate spheroid is generated by rotation about the z -axis of an ellipse with semi-major axis c and semi-minor axis a ; therefore, e may again be identified as the eccentricity . (See ellipse .) These formulas are identical in

144-554: A sphere flattened 0.336% along its axis. This makes the Equator 0.16% longer than a meridian (a great circle passing through the two poles). The IUGG standard meridian is, to the nearest millimetre, 40,007.862917 kilometres (24,859.733480 mi), one arc-minute of which is 1,852.216 metres (6,076.82 ft), explaining the SI standardization of the nautical mile as 1,852 metres (6,076 ft), more than 3 metres (9.8 ft) less than

192-452: A 12-hour day and 12-hour night. The name is derived from medieval Latin word aequator , in the phrase circulus aequator diei et noctis , meaning 'circle equalizing day and night', from the Latin word aequare 'make equal'. The latitude of the Earth's equator is, by definition, 0° (zero degrees ) of arc. The equator is one of the five notable circles of latitude on Earth;

240-404: A massive body in a close orbit. The most extreme example is Jupiter's moon Io , which becomes slightly more or less prolate in its orbit due to a slight eccentricity, causing intense volcanism . The major axis of the prolate spheroid does not run through the satellite's poles in this case, but through the two points on its equator directly facing toward and away from the primary. This combines with

288-468: A seasonal basis. In previous centuries some semi-permanent whaling stations were established on the continent, and some whalers would live there for a year or more. At least eleven children have been born in Antarctica, albeit in stations north of the Antarctic Circle. Download coordinates as: The circumference of the Antarctic Circle is roughly 16,000 kilometres (9,900 mi). The area south of

336-425: Is Both of these curvatures are always positive, so that every point on a spheroid is elliptic. The aspect ratio of an oblate spheroid/ellipse, c  : a , is the ratio of the polar to equatorial lengths, while the flattening (also called oblateness ) f , is the ratio of the equatorial-polar length difference to the equatorial length: The first eccentricity (usually simply eccentricity, as above)

384-406: Is If A = 2 a is the equatorial diameter, and C = 2 c is the polar diameter, the volume is Let a spheroid be parameterized as where β is the reduced latitude or parametric latitude , λ is the longitude , and − ⁠ π / 2 ⁠ < β < + ⁠ π / 2 ⁠ and −π < λ < +π . Then, the spheroid's Gaussian curvature is and its mean curvature

432-548: Is a circle of latitude that divides a spheroid , such as Earth , into the Northern and Southern hemispheres . On Earth, the Equator is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude , about 40,075 km (24,901 mi) in circumference, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can also be used for any other celestial body that is roughly spherical. In spatial (3D) geometry , as applied in astronomy ,

480-399: Is a quadric surface obtained by rotating an ellipse about one of its principal axes; in other words, an ellipsoid with two equal semi-diameters . A spheroid has circular symmetry . If the ellipse is rotated about its major axis , the result is a prolate spheroid , elongated like a rugby ball . The American football is similar but has a pointier end than a spheroid could. If

528-421: Is defined as one arc-minute of the Equator, so it has different values depending on which radius is assumed. For example, by WSG-84, the distance is 1,855.3248 metres (6,087.024 ft), while by IAU-2000, it is 1,855.3257 metres (6,087.027 ft). This is a difference of less than one millimetre (0.039 in) over the total distance (approximately 1.86 kilometres or 1.16 miles). Earth is commonly modeled as

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576-401: Is given by setting a = b : The semi-axis a is the equatorial radius of the spheroid, and c is the distance from centre to pole along the symmetry axis. There are two possible cases: The case of a = c reduces to a sphere. An oblate spheroid with c < a has surface area The oblate spheroid is generated by rotation about the z -axis of an ellipse with semi-major axis

624-575: Is often no direct view of the true horizon. Mirages on the Antarctic continent tend to be even more spectacular than in Arctic regions, creating, for example, a series of apparent sunsets and sunrises while in reality the sun remains below the horizon. There is no permanent human population south of the Antarctic Circle, but there are several research stations in Antarctica operated by various nations that are inhabited by teams of scientists who rotate on

672-478: Is often used instead of flattening. It is defined by: The relations between eccentricity and flattening are: All modern geodetic ellipsoids are defined by the semi-major axis plus either the semi-minor axis (giving the aspect ratio), the flattening, or the first eccentricity. While these definitions are mathematically interchangeable, real-world calculations must lose some precision. To avoid confusion, an ellipsoidal definition considers its own values to be exact in

720-544: Is the approximate shape of the ball in several sports, such as in the rugby ball . Several moons of the Solar System approximate prolate spheroids in shape, though they are actually triaxial ellipsoids . Examples are Saturn 's satellites Mimas , Enceladus , and Tethys and Uranus ' satellite Miranda . In contrast to being distorted into oblate spheroids via rapid rotation, celestial objects distort slightly into prolate spheroids via tidal forces when they orbit

768-429: Is tilted towards or away from the sun, resulting in either summer or winter in both hemispheres. This also results in a corresponding movement of the equator away from the subsolar point, which is then situated over or near the relevant tropic circle . Nevertheless, temperatures are high year-round due to the Earth's axial tilt of 23.5° not being enough to create a low minimum midday declination to sufficiently weaken

816-564: The Apollo Moon landings . The precise location of the Equator is not truly fixed; the true equatorial plane is perpendicular to the Earth's rotation axis , which drifts about 9 metres (30 ft) during a year. Geological samples show that the Equator significantly changed positions between 48 and 12 million years ago, as sediment deposited by ocean thermal currents at the Equator shifted. The deposits by thermal currents are determined by

864-989: The Maclaurin spheroid and the Jacobi ellipsoid . Spheroid is also a shape of archaeological artifacts. The oblate spheroid is the approximate shape of rotating planets and other celestial bodies , including Earth, Saturn , Jupiter , and the quickly spinning star Altair . Saturn is the most oblate planet in the Solar System , with a flattening of 0.09796. See planetary flattening and equatorial bulge for details. Enlightenment scientist Isaac Newton , working from Jean Richer 's pendulum experiments and Christiaan Huygens 's theories for their interpretation, reasoned that Jupiter and Earth are oblate spheroids owing to their centrifugal force . Earth's diverse cartographic and geodetic systems are based on reference ellipsoids , all of which are oblate. The prolate spheroid

912-400: The actinide and lanthanide elements are shaped like prolate spheroids. In anatomy, near-spheroid organs such as testis may be measured by their long and short axes . Many submarines have a shape which can be described as prolate spheroid. For a spheroid having uniform density, the moment of inertia is that of an ellipsoid with an additional axis of symmetry. Given a description of

960-518: The celestial equator . In the cycle of Earth's seasons , the equatorial plane runs through the Sun twice a year : on the equinoxes in March and September . To a person on Earth, the Sun appears to travel along the equator (or along the celestial equator) at these times. Locations on the equator experience the shortest sunrises and sunsets because the Sun's daily path is nearly perpendicular to

1008-538: The geographical mile . The sea-level surface of Earth (the geoid ) is irregular, so the actual length of the Equator is not so easy to determine. Aviation Week and Space Technology on 9 October 1961 reported that measurements using the Transit IV-A satellite had shown the equatorial diameter from longitude 11° West to 169° East to be 1,000 feet (305 m) greater than its diameter ninety degrees away. Download coordinates as: The Equator passes through

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1056-424: The horizon for most of the year. The length of daylight (sunrise to sunset) is almost constant throughout the year; it is about 14 minutes longer than nighttime due to atmospheric refraction and the fact that sunrise begins (or sunset ends) as the upper limb, not the center, of the Sun's disk contacts the horizon. Earth bulges slightly at the Equator; its average diameter is 12,742 km (7,918 mi), but

1104-528: The orbit of the Moon . Consequently, the Antarctic Circle is currently drifting southwards at a speed of about 14.5 m (48 ft) per year. The Antarctic Circle is the northernmost latitude in the Southern Hemisphere at which the centre of the sun can remain continuously above the horizon for twenty-four hours; as a result, at least once each year at any location within the Antarctic Circle

1152-504: The Circle is about 20,000,000 km (7,700,000 sq mi) and covers roughly 4% of Earth's surface. Most of the continent of Antarctica is within the Antarctic Circle. Starting at the prime meridian and heading eastwards, the Antarctic Circle passes through: 66°33′50″S 0°0′0″W  /  66.56389°S -0.00000°E  / -66.56389; -0.00000  ( Prime Meridian ) Equator The equator

1200-409: The Earth is often approximated by an oblate spheroid, known as the reference ellipsoid , instead of a sphere. The current World Geodetic System model uses a spheroid whose radius is 6,378.137 km (3,963.191 mi) at the Equator and 6,356.752 km (3,949.903 mi) at the poles . The word spheroid originally meant "an approximately spherical body", admitting irregularities even beyond

1248-444: The Equator (on Earth), noontime sunlight appears almost directly overhead (no more than about 23° from the zenith ) every day, year-round. Consequently, the Equator has a rather stable daytime temperature throughout the year. On the equinoxes (approximately March 20 and September 23) the subsolar point crosses Earth's equator at a shallow angle, sunlight shines perpendicular to Earth's axis of rotation, and all latitudes have nearly

1296-495: The Equator. However, its island of Annobón is 155 km (96 mi) south of the Equator, and the rest of the country lies to the north. France , Norway ( Bouvet Island ), and the United Kingdom are the other three Northern Hemisphere -based countries which have territories in the Southern Hemisphere . Seasons result from the tilt of Earth's axis away from a line perpendicular to the plane of its revolution around

1344-518: The IUGG at its Canberra, Australia meeting of 1979 has an equatorial radius of 6,378.137 km (3,963.191 mi). The WGS 84 (World Geodetic System 1984) which is a standard for use in cartography, geodesy, and satellite navigation including GPS , also has an equatorial radius of 6,378.137 km (3,963.191 mi). For both GRS 80 and WGS 84, this results in a length for the Equator of 40,075.0167 km (24,901.4609 mi). The geographical mile

1392-691: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) use an equatorial radius of 6,378.1366 km (3,963.1903 mi) (codified as the IAU 2009 value). This equatorial radius is also in the 2003 and 2010 IERS Conventions. It is also the equatorial radius used for the IERS 2003 ellipsoid. If it were really circular, the length of the equator would then be exactly 2π times the radius, namely 40,075.0142 km (24,901.4594 mi). The GRS 80 (Geodetic Reference System 1980) as approved and adopted by

1440-513: The Sun's rays even during the solstices. High year-round temperatures extend to about 25° north or south of the equator, although the moderate seasonal temperature difference is defined by the opposing solstices (as it is at higher latitudes) near the poleward limits of this range. Near the equator, there is little temperature change throughout the year, though there may be dramatic differences in rainfall and humidity. The terms summer, autumn, winter and spring do not generally apply. Lowlands around

1488-545: The Sun. Throughout the year, the Northern and Southern hemispheres are alternately turned either toward or away from the Sun, depending on Earth's position in its orbit. The hemisphere turned toward the Sun receives more sunlight and is in summer, while the other hemisphere receives less sun and is in winter (see solstice ). At the equinoxes , Earth's axis is perpendicular to the Sun rather than tilted toward or away, meaning that day and night are both about 12 hours long across

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1536-477: The afternoon and 23 °C (73 °F) around sunrise. Rainfall is very high away from cold ocean current upwelling zones, from 2,500 to 3,500 mm (100 to 140 in) per year. There are about 200 rainy days per year and average annual sunshine hours are around 2,000. Despite high year-round sea level temperatures, some higher altitudes such as the Andes and Mount Kilimanjaro have glaciers. The highest point on

1584-615: The axis of Earth, which determines solar coverage of Earth's surface . Changes in Earth's axis can also be observed in the geographical layout of volcanic island chains, which are created by shifting hot spots under Earth's crust as the axis and crust move. This is consistent with the Indian tectonic plate colliding with the Eurasian tectonic plate , which is causing the Himalayan uplift. The International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and

1632-407: The bi- or tri-axial ellipsoidal shape; that is how the term is used in some older papers on geodesy (for example, referring to truncated spherical harmonic expansions of the Earth's gravity geopotential model ). The equation of a tri-axial ellipsoid centred at the origin with semi-axes a , b and c aligned along the coordinate axes is The equation of a spheroid with z as the symmetry axis

1680-455: The centre of the sun is visible at local midnight , and at least once the centre of the sun is below the horizon at local noon. Directly on the Antarctic Circle these events occur, in principle, exactly once per year: at the December and June solstices , respectively. However, because of atmospheric refraction and mirages , and because the sun appears as a disk and not a point, part of

1728-649: The diameter at the equator is about 43 km (27 mi) greater than at the poles. Sites near the Equator, such as the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou , French Guiana , are good locations for spaceports as they have the fastest rotational speed of any latitude, 460 m (1,509 ft)/sec. The added velocity reduces the fuel needed to launch spacecraft eastward (in the direction of Earth's rotation) to orbit, while simultaneously avoiding costly maneuvers to flatten inclination during missions such as

1776-504: The ellipse is rotated about its minor axis , the result is an oblate spheroid , flattened like a lentil or a plain M&;M . If the generating ellipse is a circle, the result is a sphere . Due to the combined effects of gravity and rotation , the figure of the Earth (and of all planets ) is not quite a sphere, but instead is slightly flattened in the direction of its axis of rotation. For that reason, in cartography and geodesy

1824-632: The equator generally have a tropical rainforest climate , also known as an equatorial climate, though cold ocean currents cause some regions to have tropical monsoon climates with a dry season in the middle of the year, and the Somali Current generated by the Asian monsoon due to continental heating via the high Tibetan Plateau causes Greater Somalia to have an arid climate despite its equatorial location. Average annual temperatures in equatorial lowlands are around 31 °C (88 °F) during

1872-473: The equator is at the elevation of 4,690 metres (15,387 ft), at 0°0′0″N 77°59′31″W  /  0.00000°N 77.99194°W  / 0.00000; -77.99194  ( highest point on the equator ) , found on the southern slopes of Volcán Cayambe [summit 5,790 metres (18,996 ft)] in Ecuador . This is slightly above the snow line and is the only place on the equator where snow lies on

1920-431: The equator of a rotating spheroid (such as a planet ) is the parallel (circle of latitude) at which latitude is defined to be 0°. It is an imaginary line on the spheroid, equidistant from its poles , dividing it into northern and southern hemispheres. In other words, it is the intersection of the spheroid with the plane perpendicular to its axis of rotation and midway between its geographical poles . On and near

1968-522: The form it gives. The most common shapes for the density distribution of protons and neutrons in an atomic nucleus are spherical , prolate, and oblate spheroidal, where the polar axis is assumed to be the spin axis (or direction of the spin angular momentum vector). Deformed nuclear shapes occur as a result of the competition between electromagnetic repulsion between protons, surface tension and quantum shell effects . Spheroids are common in 3D cell cultures . Rotating equilibrium spheroids include

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2016-802: The ground. At the equator, the snow line is around 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) lower than on Mount Everest and as much as 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) lower than the highest snow line in the world, near the Tropic of Capricorn on Llullaillaco . There is a widespread maritime tradition of holding ceremonies to mark a sailor's first crossing of the equator. In the past, these ceremonies have been notorious for their brutality, especially in naval practice. Milder line-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune , are also held for passengers' entertainment on some civilian ocean liners and cruise ships. Spheroid A spheroid , also known as an ellipsoid of revolution or rotational ellipsoid ,

2064-625: The land of eleven sovereign states . Indonesia is the country straddling the greatest length of the equatorial line across both land and sea. Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the Equator passes through: The Equator also passes through the territorial seas of three countries: Maldives (south of Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll ), Kiribati (south of Buariki Island ), and the United States (south of Baker Island ). Despite its name, no part of Equatorial Guinea lies on

2112-412: The midnight sun may be seen on the night of the southern summer solstice up to about 50 minutes (′) (90 km (56 mi)) north of the Antarctic Circle; similarly, on the day of the southern winter solstice , part of the sun may be seen up to about 50′ south of the Antarctic Circle. That is true at sea level; those limits increase with elevation above sea level, although in mountainous regions there

2160-534: The other four are the two polar circles (the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle ) and the two tropical circles (the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn ). The equator is the only line of latitude which is also a great circle —meaning, one whose plane passes through the center of the globe. The plane of Earth's equator, when projected outwards to the celestial sphere , defines

2208-417: The sense that the formula for S oblate can be used to calculate the surface area of a prolate spheroid and vice versa. However, e then becomes imaginary and can no longer directly be identified with the eccentricity. Both of these results may be cast into many other forms using standard mathematical identities and relations between parameters of the ellipse. The volume inside a spheroid (of any kind)

2256-492: The smaller oblate distortion from the synchronous rotation to cause the body to become triaxial. The term is also used to describe the shape of some nebulae such as the Crab Nebula . Fresnel zones , used to analyze wave propagation and interference in space, are a series of concentric prolate spheroids with principal axes aligned along the direct line-of-sight between a transmitter and a receiver. The atomic nuclei of

2304-445: The whole of Earth. Near the equator, this means the variation in the strength of solar radiation is different relative to the time of year than it is at higher latitudes: maximum solar radiation is received during the equinoxes, when a place at the equator is under the subsolar point at high noon, and the intermediate seasons of spring and autumn occur at higher latitudes; and the minimum occurs during both solstices, when either pole

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