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Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo
(Deep Sky Colors)
Explanation:
This intriguing monument can be found in Taiwan between the
cities of Hualian and Taitong.
Split into two sides, it straddles a special circle of latitude on
planet Earth, near 23.5 degrees north, known as the
Tropic of Cancer.
Points along the Tropic of Cancer
are the northernmost locations where the Sun can pass directly
overhead, an event that occurs once a year
during the northern hemisphere's
summer solstice.
The latitude that defines the Tropic of Cancer corresponds to
the tilt
of planet Earth's rotation axis with respect to its orbital
plane.
The name refers to the zodiacal
constellation Cancer the Crab.
Historically
the Sun's position was within Cancer
during the northern summer solstice, but because of the precession
of Earth's axis, that
solstice Sun is currently within
the boundaries of Taurus.
In this
starry night scene
the otherwise all white structure is colored
by city lights, with
its orange side just south of the Tropic of Cancer and
the white side just north.
Of course, there is a southern hemisphere counterpart of the Tropic of
Cancer.
It's called the
Tropic of
Capricorn.
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& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day