For most of us, the word "equator" is associated with a line dividing our globe into two halves. In this regard, it is not surprising that people are wondering: what is the equator? The equator is a conditional line that exactly intersects the surface of our Earth with such a plane, which is considered perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the planet and passes directly through its center. In Latin, the word โaequatorโ is translated as โequalizerโ. This line is a conditional beginning for counting geographic latitude equal to 0 degrees at the equator.
The equator is 40 075, 676 km long, the remaining lines (parallels) are always less than its length. Throughout its line, day is constantly equal to night. It is the equator that divides our planet into two hemispheres, the Southern and Northern. Twice a year, on the days of the autumn and spring equinox, the sun above it is at its zenith. The spring equinox falls on March 20-21, and the autumn equinox - on September 23. These days, the sun is directly above your head and objects do not cast shadows.
The equator length was calculated by scientists according to the formula 2ฯR, despite the fact that the Earth does not have a spherical shape, but is elongated in the form of an ellipse (a ball flattened at the poles). Nevertheless, the radius of our planet is conventionally taken as the radius of the ball. The length of the earth at the equator is the longest line encircling the Earth. An interesting fact is that it crosses 14 states.
If we move from the Greenwich meridian to the east, then the equator crosses such states as Sao Tome and Principe in the Atlantic Ocean, then Gabon, Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia in Africa. Moving across the Indian Ocean, it passes through the Maldives and Indonesia. In the Pacific Ocean, the equator crosses Kiribati and the Baker Islands, owned by the United States, then - Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil, which are located on the South American continent. These countries are the hottest on the planet.
The length of the equator was first calculated by the ancient Greek scientist Eratosthenes, who was not only a great mathematician, geographer, poet, but also an astronomer. By measuring the time during which the sun's rays reached the bottom of the well, the scientist was able to calculate the radius of the globe and find out what is the length of the equator. These calculations are very approximate, but they have given much to subsequent generations of scientists to more accurately calculate the length of this imaginary line. Eratosthenes of Cyrene was born in 276 BC and died in 194 BC
He was one of the greatest scientists of the ancient world. He was born in the Greek city of Cyrene and, at the invitation of King Ptolemy III Everget, was in charge of the Library of Alexandria. This great scientist died of hunger, in terrible poverty, but went down in history as an insightful researcher with an extraordinary approach to science. The length of the equator along Eratosthenes was equal to 252 thousand stages, which is 39 690 km. The creator of mathematical and physical geography, Eratosthenes made great discoveries in many areas. It is very difficult for a modern person to understand how a scientist, having no instruments, calculated the length of the equator with an error of only 386 kilometers.
Many mathematicians and astronomers subsequently also tried to calculate the length of the equator. The Dutchman Snellius at the beginning of the XVII century proposed to calculate this value without taking into account the obstacles encountered. In the XVIII century, scientists from France were seriously engaged in such calculations. The Russians also did not stand aside and made their contribution to science, which made it possible to determine what is the length of the earth at the equator. The director of the Pulkovo Observatory V.Ya. Struve carried out these measurements in degrees from 1822 to 1852, and in 1941 the Soviet scientist and geodesist F.N. Krasovsky was able to calculate the length of the earth's ellipse, from which modern scientists of the whole world repel, since it is recognized as a standard.