- The Equator is an imaginary line which divides the World exactly into two halves, the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.
- The Earth is further subdivided into Parallels of Latitude which, when used in combination with Longitude, help determine the position of a location on Earth.
Description
- The Equator is the zero Parallel of Latitude.
- Each parallel of Latitude then extends North or South from 0° to 90°.
- The 90° North Parallel passes through the North Pole, and the 90° South Parallel, passes through the South Pole.
- At the Equator, the length of Day and Night are always exactly equal: Day is 12 hours long and Night is 12 hours long, every day of the year.
- On the Equinoxes, the Sun is directly overhead the Equator at Midday.
Ancient Geographers
- The Equator was mapped and described by both Marinus of Tyre and Ptolemy (150 CE).
Celestial Equator
- The Celestial Equator is a Great Circle or disc that divides the Earth’s Sphere into exactly two Hemispheres.
- It is on precisely the same plane as the Equator.
Equator