177
Geoid
(files.catbox.moe)
So, why is half of India not under water?
Honey, are you ok? You haven't touched your geoid.
Man, those oceans really give her her curves.
Does this have any noticeable effects for the physics on the surface, at either the high or low points?
It may play a small part in why we struggle to get a consistent and precise value for the gravitational constant. We can get a lot of digits consistently, but we can't quite seem to agree on the exact value beyond a certain point.
Of course, I think the leading theory has a lot more to do with material and therefore density variations throughout the crust and mantle, maybe core but probably less so. Still, standing in certain spots is going to get you slight tugs in different directions, and it may not matter when you're only after a few digits, but when you decide you want all of them... Little things start to matter.
The geoid is the shape that the ocean surface would take under the influence of the gravity of Earth, including gravitational attraction and Earth's rotation, if other influences such as winds and tides were absent. This surface is extended through the continents. According to Carl Friedrich Gauss, who first described it, it is the "mathematical figure of the Earth", a smooth but irregular surface whose shape results from the uneven distribution of mass within and on the surface of Earth. It can be known only through extensive gravitational measurements and calculations. Despite being an important concept for almost 200 years in the history of geodesy and geophysics, it was not defined with any degree of precision until the advent of satellite geodesy in the mid-20th century. Mathematician Gladys West was the first person to synthesize a high-fidelity geoid from this satellite data. The geoid is one of the essential components of satellite-based global positioning systems.
- Wikipedia
Exaggerated 10,000x, I read several moments too late
Yeah, seemed odd to me since at a golf ball’s scale, Everest would fit inside a dimple.
Source please?
It says it right there if you look ヘ(￣ω￣ヘ)
Swishhh
Its crazy it already had the lines on it
Little known fact, those geopolitical lines were discovered in antiquity and we built nations based on their borders.
This shows tectonic movement! The Indian subcontinent is moving super fast north, creating the Himalayas but also creating a very deep chasm to the south in the Indian Ocean.
The Mid-Atlantic ridge is also visible, growing Europe as North America is subsumed.
Thanks for sharing something super cool!
Why does Iceland looks like it’s on the top of the world? hot spot?
When the galactic child formed the Earth mud ball, there was slightly more mud on that side?
Iceland slipped through the god-child’s fingers, who pressed a bit too hard as bits squeezed through to make the moon and the stars
The view of the borders from space is astonishing /s
Potato potato.
Explains why my states motto
Imagine a spherical Earth...
I wonder why the visualisation wasn't made so it rotates continuously in an endless loop, or is Voyager acting up?
The orange is our current weather.
No it is not
this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2026
177 points (97.8% liked)
science
28409 readers
738 users here now
A community to post scientific articles, news, and civil discussion.
dart board;; science bs
rule #1: be kind
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS