Talk:Tropic of Cancer

Google Earth draws the line at 23 degrees 27 minutes.

On Mexican Federal Highway 1 there's a monument marking the location of the Tropic of Cancer.

The Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics gives a value of 23 degrees 26 minutes 21 seconds ... but also notes that the real value is plus or minus 9 arcseconds.

Velocity

The tropic of cancer is currently moving south at a speed of 14.8 meters per year, at least according to [1].

Does anyone know what year it will turn around and start heading north again?

see Axial tilt --Tauʻolunga 05:59, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

It would also be nice to know when it turned around and started heading south. -- ProveIt ^(talk) 15:05, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

Here [2] it is thought to be 14.4 meters / year.

see also Milutin Milanković & Milankovitch cycles

northern solstice

This solstice entered Taurus from Gemini in December 1989 see ecliptic --Tauʻolunga 02:36, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

China

The countries commonly referred to as "China" and "Taiwan" are described in the articles People's Republic of China and Republic of China, respectively. China talks about the civilization and culture of both countries, and Taiwan talks just about the island (and not the other territories of the country). I believe the links to the countries are most appropriate for the list.

Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands

I removed the reference to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Tropic of Cancer does not pass through their territories. Indeed, it passes through the Bahamas, which are a good 500 miles north of P.R. Not home 14:48, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Political Correctness

I'm not even going to bother logging in. As a rule, I don't contribute all too frequently. And I wont take it upon myself to make changes now.I just question whether it is appropriate to give Myanmar recognition or if if would be more appropriate to list it as Burma. Just a thought. 68.205.139.90 (talk) 13:07, 28 May 2008 (UTC)kevinpedia

Not sure what that's got to do with political correctness, but we should probably give both names. Bazonka (talk) 16:11, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Location and Geodesic Datum

The article says that the tropic is 23° 26′ 22″ north of the Equator, but should not the location be different according to the reference Elipsoid?--200.103.134.145 (talk) 02:03, 28 February 2009 (UTC)

Why is it called the "Tropic of Cancer?"

I'm curious as to where the names Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn came from. I am aware that the ecliptic, or path of the Sun often deviates north and south of the Celestial Equator. But as far as I can tell, the northern- and southern-most lattitudes of the Sun don't occur when the Sun is in either the house of Cancer or Capricorn, respectively. Were the tropics named so far in the distant past that precession has rendered their names meaningless, or is there some other factor that I'm missing? Pine (talk) 22:08, 21 October 2009 (UTC)

"Were the tropics named so far in the distant past that precession has rendered their names meaningless?"

Indeed, that's exactly what has happened.

"The Tropic of Cancer is so named because about 2,000 years ago the sun was entering the constellation Cancer at the June solstice. In modern times the sun appears in the constellation Gemini during this time. The change is due to precession of the equinoxes. The word "tropic" itself comes from the Greek tropos, meaning turn, referring to the fact that the sun appears to "turn back" at the solstices."

— Rephrased from Tropic of Capricorn

Hope this help.

As far as I know, the Greek word tropos does not mean turn. The correct word must be tropi.

-- Greek commentator

  Set Sail For The Seven Seas  340° 25' 30" NET   22:41, 21 October 2009 (UTC)

Inaccurate reference to the 1st day of summer

The phrase "the sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer on the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere" is inaccurate because summer does not always start on the solstice - it varies by culture/jurisdiction. I plan to remove this reference and rewrite / rearrange the lead section unless anyone objects. Wally1972b (talk) 06:26, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Image

File:tropic-cancer-slp-mexico.JPG used to be on this page. It was removed by user:99.181.110.239 on 14 May 2010. Granted it is not a very pretty monument, but is this a sufficient reason to remove the photo? There are not many other monuments to choose from. --Lasunncty (talk) 11:41, 26 May 2010 (UTC)