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This month's Challenge Question: Specs & Techs from IEEE Engineering360:
The Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are circles of latitude corresponding to the northernmost and southernmost points where the Sun can still be found directly overhead (on the solstices). Those latitudes are 23.43709°N(S) and are considered the delineation between the temperate zones and subtropical zones. Why are they named “Cancer” and “Capricorn?”
And the answer is:
Cancer and Capricorn were the constellations of the zodiac in which the Sun rose on the days of the summer and winter solstices when the tropics were named 2000 years ago. The solstices are the days when the Sun is directly overhead at the respective Tropics, thus the naming convention. It is interesting to note that due to Precession of the Equinoxes, if the Tropics were named in modern times they would be the Tropic of Taurus and Tropic of Sagittarius. Also worth noting is the term Tropic, which is derived from the Greek “trope,” means “turn back” or “change of direction,” which is what happens to the Sun’s northern or southern latitude advancement on the solstices.
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Re: Tropical Sun: Newsletter Challenge (February 2017)
Good Answers: