Equator

The equator is an imaginary circle of 0° latitude that divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It has a length of 40,075 km (24,901 mi). It is exactly halfway between the North and South Poles.

Near the equator, the sunlight is always about directly overhead around noon and the variation between summer and winter is negligible. As a result, places around the equator have very stable temperatures throughout the year and the difference in length between day and night is almost nonexistent, both being about 12 hours.

Sites near the Equator are good locations for spaceports as the rotational on the equator is faster than anywhere else on Earth, being about 460 m (1,509 ft)/sec. Because of this 'speed boost', rockets require less fuel to reach orbit.

The equator runs through 13 countries: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, São Tomé and Príncipe, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia and Kiribati. In most of these countries the equator is marked with monuments, or lines on the roads crossing it.

On cruise ships Line-crossing ceremonies are often held for those passengers who cross the equator for the first time in their lives.