Tropic of Cancer

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The Tropic of Cancer is the Earth's northernmost circle of latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun to its maximum extent. Similarly, at the latitude of the Tropic of Cancer, at solar midnight on the December solstice, the Sun will be 90 degrees below the horizon in all directions. It is the northern of the two tropics: its Southern Hemisphere counterpart, marking the most southerly position at which the Sun can be seen directly overhead, is the Tropic of Capricorn. These tropics are two of the seven major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth, the others being the Arctic and Antarctic circles, the Equator, and the Poles (which are degenerate circles). The positions of these two circles of latitude (relative to the Equator) are dictated by the tilt of Earth's axis of rotation relative to the plane of its orbit, and since the tilt changes, the location of these two circles also changes...

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