Laura Turner, age 12, of El Paso, Tex., for his question:
HOW LONG IS THE EQUATOR?
Going around the Earth midway between the North and South poles is an imaginary line called the Equator. It is a great circle that rime the circumference of the Earth. The Equator is 24,901.55 miles long.
The Equator divides the Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. It is also the starting place for the degrees of latitude that measure distances north and south from the Equator to the poles The latitude of the Equator is zero degrees, as latitude is measured. The North Pole has a latitude of 90 degrees north and the
South Pole has a latitude of 90 degrees south. These degrees are sometimes written with a plus or minus. Degrees of latitude are then divided into 60 minutes and each of the minutes is then divided into 60 seconds.
All places on the surface of the Earth that have the same latitude are located in an imaginary circle called a parallel of latitude.
Along the Equator, you'll discover on a world map or globe, are marked the degrees of longitude that measure distances from east to west. Map makers show the Earth divided into 360 equal parts.
Days and nights are always of equal length at the Equator. Because of the Earth's orientation toward the sun, at any time, half of the Equator is always in the zone of darkness and half in the zone of daylight.
The parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that lie on the Equator are called the doldrums. They are between two trade wind belts and are areas of calm.
The magnetic Equator is the line on which all points are equally distant from the South and North magnetic poles. On this line, the magnetic attraction of the North and South magnetic poles is equal.
The climate along the Equator varies according to the altitude and the distance from the ocean. In equatorial lowlands, uniform temperatures and extremely heavy rains can be found throughout the year. But on the east coast of Africa there is a long dry season with very little rain.
Quito, Ecuador, lies almost exactly on the Equator. It has an elevation of more than 9,000 feet. It has a uniform temperature of about 25 degrees Fahrenheit, which is much cooler than the lowland areas that aren't too far away.
The celestial equator is an imaginary circle formed by projecting the plane of the Earth's Equator into the heavens. It helps in locating various planets, whose movement follows the celestial equator, and stars.
Equatorial Guinea is a small nation located on the west coast of Africa just north of the Equator. Once belonging to Spain, the country gained independence in 1963 and joined the United Nations in 1968