The Equator

geography · Earth · hemispheres · invisible

Splits Earth in half. The equator is an imaginary line at 0 degrees latitude that divides our planet into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. Without it, we wouldn't have a way to describe which half of Earth we're talking about.

Super long line. If you could walk along the equator without stopping, you'd travel about 21,639 nautical miles. That's almost 25,000 regular miles, making it way longer than any trip across a continent.

Halfway between poles. The equator sits exactly halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole. This makes it the perfect dividing line for splitting Earth into top and bottom halves.

Other planets have them too. The equator isn't just for Earth. Any other planet or moon that's roughly round and spins also has an imaginary equator running around its middle. This helps scientists describe locations on other worlds.

Used for navigation. Sailors, pilots, and map makers use the equator as a starting point to measure latitude. It's one of the most important invisible lines on Earth because everything else is measured from it.