Astronomy Picture Of The Day : A Gravity Map of Earth

NASA ^ | 11.13.01 | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)

[callisto]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

2001 November 13

A Gravity Map of Earth
Credit: JPL, NASA

Explanation: Is gravity the same over the surface of the Earth? No -- it turns out that in some places you will feel slightly heavier than others. The above relief map shows in exaggerated highs and lows where the gravitational field of Earth is relatively strong and weak. A low spot can be seen just off the coast of India, while a relative high occurs in the South Pacific Ocean. The cause of these irregularities is unknown since present surface features do not appear dominant. Scientists hypothesize that factors that are more important lay in deep underground structures and may be related to the Earth's appearance in the distant past. To better map Earth's gravity and hence better understand its interior and past, NASA plans to launch the Gravity Recovery and Climate (GRACE) satellite in February.

[callisto]

ping

[callisto]

ping

[toupsie]

So what this means is that I shouldn't go on a diet just move off the coast of India to lose weight...

[Cyber Liberty]

I always thought the middle-east was lightweight....

[Dustbunny]

This is really interesting but a legend of what the various colors mean would have been nice for those of us with slow connections.

[d4now]

bump

[boris]

"while a relative high occurs in the South Pacific Ocean"

A shame we can't see the 'relative high' in the view provided.

--Boris

[Carolina]

Fascinating BUMP!

[cake_crumb]

"I always thought the middle-east was lightweight...."

ROFLOL

[MeekOneGOP]

A low spot can be seen just off the coast of India, while a relative high occurs in the South Pacific Ocean.

So there you have it, dieters. If you want to LOSE weight, go on a cruise of the Indian Coast. If you want to GAIN weight, go on a cruise in the South Pacific. The side benefit? No terrorism on Cruise Ships yet. . .

Thanks for the ping, Callisto. BTW, did you adopt your screen name in honor of Jacque Cousteau's boat? [That was his boats name, right - Callisto?].

[Cyber Liberty]

You can see it...it's that huge black blotch at the lower right side of the globe. Sort of like Gorbechev's head upside-down....

[mcjordansc]

Gravity must be strong in South Carolina. I feel very heavy! Maybe Indian mystics really can levitate!

[MeekOneGOP]

I think I got that wrong about the boat. Maybe it was "Calypso" instead?. . . sorry!

[Fiddlstix]

Bump

[mtngrl@vrwc]

How interesting! I learn something new every day! This is today's "something".

[Darth Reagan]

So, I wonder if the boys in Vegas take this into account when handicapping basketball games, and does this mean I'll be able to drive the gold ball farther in the low gravity areas?

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

Check the "ARCHIVES" for ASOD- pretty much a self-taught course in Astronomy and Astrophysics, if you were to follow all the links given there for each topic.

One of the best sites on the Web!

[Zuben Elgenubi]

From NASA, the SPOTLIGHT (Getting the Lowdown of Gravity) is associated with this image.

Don’t forget the Leonids this weekend

[Maringa]

I didn't read anywhere but I wonder what difference in weight would occur if you weighed 100 lbs in the lowest gravity zone and then moved to the highest gravity zone? Would anyone hazard a guess?