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The equator is the imaginary line that horizontally encircles the heart of Earth , stretching approximately 24,900 Admiralty mile ( 40,000 kilometers ) long . It ’s situate halfway between the North and South poles , dividing the northerly and Southern cerebral hemisphere , with a parallel of latitude of 0 degrees .

Humans have recognize Earth is round for thousands of years — starting with the ancient Greeks , including Pythagoras , around 500 B.C. and confirmed by Aristotle a couple of centuries afterwards . concisely after this , Eratosthenes becamethe first person to shape out the circumference ofthe satellite .

close up of the top half of a globe with africa and europe showing

The equator is the imaginary line that runs horizontally across Earth. Can you name the all countries this line runs through?

research worker think pre - Inca civilizations live the localization of the equator , creating the astronomical observatory Catequilla on it around 800 A.D.,according to the BBC .

But it was n’t until the 1700s that the equator was first mapped — albeit slightly off — by a team of French scientist . This same team also confirmed that Earth ’s perimeter is big at the equator because of a phenomenon have it away as the equatorial hump . This is due to thecentrifugal forceexerted on the planet by its rotation , which means gravitational force is gloomy at the equator than elsewhere on Earth .

The equator is alsoan idealistic spot for rocket engine launchesinto space . As well as the equator having lower sombreness , Earth ’s spin is faster there , give rockets an additional hike when launch from the line .

Rocket liftoff

Today , the equator lead through 13 nation . Can you name them all in 5 minutes ? If so , how fast can you do it ? Take our skill quiz below to find out . The continent or part the country is settle in is provide . check that you login to sum your name to the leaderboard . If you call for a steer , just hit the yellow push button .

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