The word "equator" (aequator) is translated from late Latin as "I do equal" or "equalizer". So in this exotic name quite ordinary geometrical roots lie. In fact, this word it is possible to call any line dividing something into equal parts.
It is required to you
- - globe;
- - cards of hemispheres of Earth (physical, climatic, natural zones)
Instruction
1. Most often the word the equator at people is associated with a median zone of the earth with hot climate where a palm tree and "there are a lot of wild monkeys". So-called equatorial climatic earth belt is area between 5-8 degrees in northern and 4-11 degrees of southern latitude. Directly the equator is the line surrounding the globe, equidistanted from its poles. It is formed from the imagined crossing of a surface of the planet by the plane passing perpendicular to an axis of rotation of Earth through its center. Length of the terrestrial equator is 40075.696 km. Diameter of Earth on the equator is equal to 12756 km. On this line the day is always equal to night. In days spring (on March 21) and an equinox autumn (on September 23) height of the Sun in a zenith reaches the maximum point here – 90 degrees. From the line of the equator the geographic latitude of the place from 0 to 90 degrees to northern and southern poles respectively is reckoned, and the globe is conditionally divided into the northern and southern hemisphere. All parallel lines passing through points of the earth's surface out of the equator are called terrestrial parallels.
2. Equatorial natural zone the warmest on the planet. Here the smallest daily allowance and annual changes of temperatures: at constant air temperature +24 – +28os they average 2-3 degrees. At the sea of fluctuation in general there can be less than 1 wasps. A significant amount of the dropping-out precipitation (from 3,000 mm a year up to 8,000 mm and above) exceeds evaporation therefore soils here generally boggy. In a humid climate under constant downpours with thunderstorms the dense many-tier woods grow. In the equatorial zone meet to a half of all types of representatives of flora and fauna of Earth. In the countries of the equatorial climatic zone cultivate such exotic cultures as: pineapples, bananas, cocoa, cycads and coconut palm trees. Here tourism industry is widely developed.
3. Besides the geographical equator, distinguish still also heavenly equator and the equator magnetic. The heavenly equator is meant as a big circle of the heavenly sphere. The plane of this circle coincides with the plane of the terrestrial equator and is perpendicular as world axes with northern and southern poles, and axes of rotation of Earth. The heavenly equator is a basis for the equatorial system of heavenly coordinates. The equator magnetic represents the closed line on the earth's surface in which tension and an inclination of magnetic field of the planet are equal to zero. The geographical location of the magnetic equator of Earth, as well as a magnetic pole, all the time gradually changes as a result of century changes of the geomagnetic field.