A tropic is either of two latitudes on Earth at which the Sun appears directly overhead at mid-summer and mid-winter. The Tropic of Cancer is the parallel of latitude 23° 27' north of the equator where the Sun lies in the zenith at the summer solstice, around 22 June. The Tropic of Capricorn is the parallel of latitude 23° 27' south of the equator where the Sun lies in the zenith at the winter solstice, around 22 December.