Potato Earth: Gravity satellite reveals what our planet REALLY looks like

dailymail.co.uk ^ | March 31, 2011 | Daily Mail Reporter

[Free ThinkerNY]

At first glance it looks like a potato-shaped asteroid flying through space.

But this multi-coloured image is actually the Earth - and shows how gravity varies on different parts of the globe.

The images were unveiled today by the team behind the GOCE satellite at a conference in Munich and are the most accurate ever released.

The 'geoid' map, as it is known, is used to illustrate how oceans would look in the absence of currents or tides.

The bright yellow colours show gravity at its strongest, while it is at its weakest in the blue areas.

There appears to be no obvious differences between land and sea as gravity over North America appears to be lower than that of the African continent.

The maps are used for measuring the circulation of oceans, sea-level changes and ice-dynamics - all areas that are affected by climate change.

[Waverunner]

So the scientific implication is that all Americans are lightweights.... ( Or is it just the President).

[mikrofon]

At first glance it looks like a potato-shaped asteroid flying through space

It goes w/o saying where Allah's name is found....

[Jeff Chandler]

Laz wou . . .

[Jeff Chandler]

-

[Tucker39]

That explains why Asians are generally shorter. The gravity is stronger in that part of the globe. ;oD

[Lazamataz]

[Red Badger]

That loks vaguely obscene........

[FredZarguna]

The model is highly exaggerated and actually has the most important effects removed. Latitude is responsible for the largest gravitational variation and the effect is greatest at the poles (5 parts in 1000) which this map does not show. The second largest effect is at altitude (~2/1000 over 8Km from mean sea level) which is also not shown. Local geological effects on gravity are <2 parts in 10,000, and that's all that appears here.

The local effect is so small that, depending on how massive a local geological feature is, your weight might actually be more seriously influenced by your location relative to the moon.

[Publius6961]

Huh? Now we're supposed to believe that the climate affects the density of the earth? Are we supposed to believe that we weigh more on some parts of the earth opposed to others? "What fresh hell is this?"

The short answer is yes.
But before you get your knickers in a bunch, look up "vertical exaggeration."

The difference in weight would never be measureable by a normal scale.
The same mass will have different weights on top of Everest and the shores of the Dead Sea.

[Southack]

The density of the Earth isn’t changing...making climate “changes” problematic if tied to gravity.

[Southack]

"Where you're closer to the center of the earth the gravity is less."

Nope. You weigh less as you are further from the center of the Earth. Think: scuba divers, mountain climbers, pilots, astronauts, etc.

[reg45]

One of the major factors is the rotation of the earth. It causes the earth to bulge at the equator and also exerts an outward force on all objects - except at the poles, where the effect is zero.

[reg45]

Nope. You weigh less as you are further from the center of the Earth. Think: scuba divers, mountain climbers, pilots, astronauts, etc.

Sorry, Southack, you are wrong. You have succumbed to the oversimplification model (assuming gravitational attraction as a point source at the center of the earth).

At the center of the earth, your weight would be zero. Here is why: The mass of the earth would all be "above" you in all directions and therefore the vector sum of all the gravitational attractions would be zero. It is the gravitational attraction that causes weight.

If you assume only two bodies in the equation (the earth and you), your weight would be zero at the center of the earth. It would increase as you approached the surface of the earth. And then it would decrease as you moved away from the earth.

[Southack]

There is crushing pressure as you approach the center of the Earth. Think: Marianas Trench.

There is no pressure as you approach Space. Think: astronaut.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Free ThinkerNY.

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[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Free ThinkerNY. The pic links to a 2001 FR topic.

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[PSYCHO-FREEP]

You also weigh less the closer you are to the Equator. By at least 1-2%. (Factual study and result.)

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

You seem to be confusing mass and density with gravity.

They are not related. The weight of the Ocean above you at the Marianas Trench is the result of mass and density in relation between you and gravity, which is lower at the center of the Earth. Which is why you would be crushed.

[Southack]

http://www.experts123.com/q/does-a-person-weigh-less-in-higher-altitude.html

[onedoug]

Thanks for the ping.

God has certainly made a mysterious universe.

Gravitation. The best minds on Earth cannot figure it out.