Editing Tropics (section)

== Astronomical definition ==
[[File:axial_tilt_vs_tropical_and_polar_circles.svg|thumb|350px|Relationship of Earth's axial tilt (ε) to the tropical and polar circles: the Tropic of Cancer is a subsolar point only at the [[June solstice]], and the Tropic of Capricorn is only at the [[December solstice]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/physics/160-our-solar-system/the-earth/seasons/15-what-is-the-significance-of-the-tropic-of-cancer-tropic-of-capricorn-arctic-circle-and-antarctic-circle-beginner|title=What is the significance of the Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle?|website=Ask an Astronomer|access-date=19 November 2022}}</ref>]]

The tropics are defined as the region between the [[Tropic of Cancer]] in the [[Northern Hemisphere]] at {{Circle of latitude|Tropical|Convert}} N and the [[Tropic of Capricorn]] in the [[Southern Hemisphere]] at {{Circle of latitude|Tropical|Convert}} S;<ref name="meteo">{{cite web|url=https://content.meteoblue.com/en/research-education/educational-resources/meteoscool/general-climate-zones/tropical-zone|title=Tropical zone|website=meteoblue|access-date=19 November 2022}}</ref> these latitudes correspond to the [[axial tilt#Earth|axial tilt of the Earth]].

The Tropic of Cancer is the Northernmost latitude from which the [[Sun]] can ever be seen [[zenith|directly overhead]], and the Tropic of Capricorn is the Southernmost.<ref name="meteo" /> This means that the tropical zone includes everywhere on Earth which is a [[subsolar point]] at least once during the [[solar year]]. Thus the maximum latitudes of the tropics have equal distances from the equator on either side. Likewise, they approximate the angle of the Earth's axial tilt. This angle is not perfectly fixed, mainly due to the influence of the moon, but the limits of the tropics are a geographic convention, and their variance from the true latitudes is very small.