Climate map showing the thermal equator

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The thermal equator is a belt encircling the Earth, defined by the set of locations having the highest mean annual temperature at each longitude around the globe. Because local temperatures are sensitive to the geography of a region, and mountain ranges and ocean currents ensure that smooth temperature gradients, such as might be found if the Earth were uniform in composition and devoid of surface irregularities, are impossible, the location of the thermal equator bears no relationship to that of the geographic equator. Climate map showing the thermal equator This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Climate map showing the thermal equator This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ... In statistics, mean has two related meanings: the average in ordinary English, which is more correctly called the arithmetic mean, to distinguish it from geometric mean or harmonic mean. ... Temperature is the physical property of a system which underlies the common notions of hot and cold; the material with the higher temperature is said to be hotter. ... Map of Earth showing curved lines of longitude Longitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter λ, describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ... The equator is an imaginary line drawn around a planet, halfway between the poles. ...

The term is less frequently used to describe the belt of maximum temperatures encircling the globe which migrates roughly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, the region known as the Intertropical convergence zone, as the Earth orbits the sun. The Tropic of Cancer (cancer (♋) is Latin for crab) is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. ... The Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. ... The Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), also known as the Intertropical Front or the Equatorial Convergence Zone, is a belt of low pressure girdling Earth at the equator. ... In physics, an orbit is the path that an object makes, around another object, whilst under the influence of a source of centripetal force, such as gravity. ...

Still another definition states that the thermal equator is the latitude at which insolation is identical throughout the year; this is not the same as the astronomical equator because the Earth reaches perihelion (the minimum distance from the Sun in its orbit) in early January and is at aphelion (maximum distance) in early July; therefore, insolation is somewhat higher at 0° latitude in January than in July even though the height of the sun (at noon) and the length of day (from sunrise to sunset) is essentially the same. At a few degrees north of the equator the perihelion/aphelion factor is balanced by the fact that the angle of the Sun is slightly more direct, and the days are slightly longer, at the time of the summer solstice for the Northern Hemisphere (most commonly on June 21), making the level of insolation virtually the same in both "summer" and "winter." Insolation is the incoming solar radiation that reaches a planet and its atmosphere. ... The equator is an imaginary line drawn around a planet, halfway between the poles. ... This article is about several astronomical terms (apogee & perigee, aphelion & perihelion, generic equivalents based on apsis, and related but rarer terms. ... The Sun is the star at the centre of our Solar system. ... This article is about several astronomical terms (apogee & perigee, aphelion & perihelion, generic equivalents based on apsis, and related but rarer terms. ... Insolation is the incoming solar radiation that reaches a planet and its atmosphere. ... Solstice is an astronomical term regarding the position of the Sun in relation to the celestial equator. ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... Insolation is the incoming solar radiation that reaches a planet and its atmosphere. ...