Winter Solstice Animation
Figure 6h-8: This animation displays the geometric relationship that occurs between the Earth and the Sun during the winter solstice. The yellow line on the Earth represents the equator. The green lines are the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn. The Arctic and Antarctic Circles are shown with red lines. In the animation, the South Pole is tilted 23.5° toward the Sun. This condition causes the Sun's rays to be most intense at the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° South). This is illustrated on the animation by the location sideways yellow T. For any location on the Tropic of Capricorn, the Sun's position in the sky would be at 90° or directly overhead at solar noon. Also, note that all locations North of the Arctic Circle (66.5° North) are in total darkness, while locations South of the Antarctic Circle (66.5° South) receive 24 hours of daylight. (To view this animation your browser must have Apple's QuickTime plug-in. The QuickTime plug-in is available for Macintosh and Windows operating system computers and can be downloaded FREE from the World Wide Web site www.apple.com/quicktime). |