This parallel marks the farthest point south at which the sun can be seen directly overhead at noon, south of the parallel the sun appears less than 90 degrees from the northern horizon at any time during the year. The Tropic of Capricorn is the southern boundary of the tropics. A circle of latitude is known as a parallel, because the circles of latitude are at fixed distances apart and on some maps they appear parallel. The circles of latitude are imaginary rings around the Earth and comprise the points that have the same value of latitude in relation to the sun. The five major circles of latitude are the ARCTIC CIRCLE (66.5 degrees N), the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees N), the Equator (0 degrees N), the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees S) and the ANTARCTIC CIRCLE (66.5 degrees S). The Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five major circles of latitude that are on maps of the Earth. The term Capricorn comes from the Latin words caper “goat” and cornu “horn” and is one of the 12 constellations in the zodiac. The sun now appears in the constellation of Sagittarius at its southernmost point. The Tropic of Capricorn is so named because 2,000 years ago, when it was discovered that the sun appeared directly overhead at this latitude during the winter solstice, it was entering the zodiac constellation sign of Capricorn.

Below this line is the southern temperate zone and north of the line are the tropics. It is the southern counterpart to the TROPIC OF CANCER. It is the farthest southern latitude at which the sun can appear directly overhead. THE TROPIC of Capricorn is an imaginary line encircling the Earth at the latitude of 23 degrees 30 minutes south of the equator.

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