RJ's Inspiration #015 ♋️

RJ's Inspiration

weekly viz to inspire you too

♋️ THE NORTHERN TROPIC
is also referred to as the Tropic of Cancer. It is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This event occurs on the June solstice when the Northern hemisphere is at its maximum tilt toward the Sun. And guess what? The Northern Tropic is moving.

The Tropic's position changes every year because of a slight wobble in the Earth's longitudinal alignment relative to its orbit around the Sun. Earth's axial tilt varies over a 41,000-year period from 22.1 to 24.5 degrees. This wobble means that the Tropic of Cancer is currently drifting southward at a rate of about 15 meters per year. 

The movement of the Tropic is most beautifully visualized along Mexican highway Carretera 83. At km 27+800—and in this photo from Wikipedia—you can see the Tropic's crawl precisely marked, year by year.

📝 DESIGN SECRETS!
I penned a recap of my conversation with Andy Cotgreave (Twitter) about some of my favorite examples of historic visualization that still offer striking design lessons. Give it a read and see plenty of inspiring viz (some of which has been featured in this newsletter) on Tableau's Blog.

👉 ARE YOU ENJOYING THIS SERIES?
Please reply directly to share your favorite viz, offer any advice for how this newsletter experiment can be improved, or say hello. -RJ