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| Antarctic Circle |
The parallel of latitude approximately 66°33′ south. It forms the boundary between the South Temperate and South Frigid zones.
Antarctic Circle
| Dictionary: Antarctic Circle |
The parallel of latitude approximately 66°33′ south. It forms the boundary between the South Temperate and South Frigid zones.
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Antarctic Circle |
For more information on Antarctic Circle, visit Britannica.com.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Antarctic Circle |
Antarctic Circle, imaginary circle on the surface of the earth at 661/2°S lat., i.e., 231/2° north of the South Pole. It marks the southernmost point at which the sun can be seen at the winter solstice (about June 22) and the northernmost point of the southern polar regions at which the midnight sun is visible.
| Geography: Antarctic Circle |
An imaginary circle around the Earth about three-quarters of the way from the equator to the South Pole.
- The Antarctic Circle corresponds to the Arctic Circle in the Northern Hemisphere.
| Wikipedia: Antarctic Circle |
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The Antarctic Circle is one of the five major circles (or parallels) of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. As of 2009, it lies at latitude 66° 33′ 39″ (or 66.56083°) south of the equator. The area south of the Antarctic Circle is known as the Antarctic, and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone. The equivalent line of latitude in the northern hemisphere is the Arctic Circle.
Every place south of the Antarctic Circle experiences a period of twenty-four hours' continuous daylight at least once per year, and a period of twenty-four hours' continuous night time at least once per year. That is to say, there is at least one whole day during which the sun does not set, and at least one whole day during which the sun does not rise. On the Antarctic Circle these events occur, in principle, exactly once per year, at the December solstice and the June solstice respectively. This happens because the Earth's axis is tilted, by approximately 23.5 degrees, relative to ecliptic (the plane of the Earth's orbit around the sun). At the June solstice the southern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun to its maximum extent, and the region of permanent darkness reaches its northern limit; at the December solstice the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent, and the region of permanent sunlight reaches its northern limit.
In practice several other factors affect the appearance of continuous day or night, the most important being atmospheric refraction, the altitude of the observer above sea level, mirages, and the fact that the sun is a sphere rather than a point. Mirages on the Antarctic continent tend to be even more spectacular than in Arctic regions, creating, for example, a series of apparent sunsets and sunrises while in reality the sun remains under the horizon.
Due to gradual changes in the tilt of the Earth's axis, the Antarctic Circle is slowly moving. See circles of latitude.
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Geography and demographics
The continent of Antarctica forms a land mass covering much of the area within the Antarctic Circle. There is no permanent human population on Earth south of the Antarctic Circle. There are, however, several Antarctic research centers from various nations that are inhabited by teams of scientists that rotate on a seasonal basis. In previous centuries, some semi-permanent whaling stations were established on the continent and some of the whalers would live there for a year or more. At least three children have been born in Antarctica, albeit in stations north of the Antarctic Circle. See Demographics of Antarctica.
Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the Antarctic Circle passes through:
See also
- Arctic Circle
- Equator
- Antarctic Convergence
- Solstice
- Obliquity of the Ecliptic
- Tropic of Cancer
- Tropic of Capricorn
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External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
| Translations: Antarctic Circle |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - Sydpolarkredsen
Nederlands (Dutch)
zuidpoolcirkel
Deutsch (German)
n. - Südlicher Polarkreis
العربيه (Arabic)
الدائره القطبيه الجنوبيه
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - החוג האנטארקטי
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 | polar circle |
| south frigid zone (geography) |
| Antarctic Zone (geography) |
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| Geography. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Antarctic Circle". Read more |
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| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- polar circle
- south frigid zone (geography)
- Antarctic Zone (geography)
- south temperate zone (geography)
- subantarctic
- Antarctic
- Bouvet Island
- Antarctica (Geography)
- Frigid Zone (extreme latitude zones of the earth)
- Temperate Zone (intermediate latitude zones of the earth)
- midnight sun (in astronomy, meteorology)
- arctic
- Antarctic Circle (physical geography, geomorphology)
- Race for the Poles (History Film)
