Earth, The Rotating Potato

Map of planetary field is sharpest ever

I was surfing while I was BBQ some chicken thighs and came across this and thought some of our members here at ATS would appreciate it. So I thought it would be cool to post a thread. Supposedly it's the sharpest representation of Earth's gravity.

Enjoy

Earth, The Rotating Potato...

GRAVITATIONAL PORTRAIT - Yellow and red represent some of the sharp deviations from the average pull of Earth’s gravitational field, gathered in this new map by the European GOCE satellite.

Rotating potato or insight into the planet’s deepest secrets? This new map of the Earth’s gravity field, gathered by the European GOCE satellite, shows how, in regions such as Iceland and Indonesia, the planet's internal structure creates large gravitational deviations (yellow and red) from the average.

A matter of gravity

As seen by a supersensitive gravity-detecting satellite, Earth isn’t a pale blue dot. It’s a colorful, irregular lump. Kind of like a tuber.

“Rotating potato — I don’t like this word,” said Roland Pail, a geoscientist at the Technical University of Munich. He and other researchers unveiled the new map of the Earth’s gravity field on March 31 at a scientific workshop in Munich.

Yet a rainbow potato it is. This image represents a sort of theoretical sea level known as the “geoid” — a surface where the ocean would rest if not pushed around by internal currents, tides and the weather.

and it looks like we are about to be sliced open, buttered and sour creamed.....as the Sun is one hell of an oven...lol...

reply to post by Caji316




It might be the sharpest representation to date but it looks all squishy to me.

might be a repost... :\

but cool thread anyway! Thanks OP

I recall reading this here some time ago. It's interesting to say the least, but sure is grotesque.

And I hope you enjoy you chicken thighs. Personally, I feel like having a hot potato after watching that.

Walks away from keyboard in search of sour cream and chives

If the orange and yellow are high gravitational, then the dark blue spot in what i think is the pacific must be low gravitational. That kinda stuck out for me. Be curious to learn more about that particular area. Peace

So THAT'S why I gain weight when I visit my grandmother, and not her cooking! Really, that interesting. I wonder, mathematically, what the grade of deviations is from the red regions to the dark blue? The deviant regions don't seem to follow continental masses, but they do conform to mountain ranges and outside influences. I also wonder if, 1: those regions wander; and 2: what differentiating effects they have on the human body, from a medical perspective? Very cool innovation, even though it's a couple years old already.

I remember hearing that no planet is "perfectly" round but I didn't know it was that extreme. Also fascinating what you can do with satellites these days! Really interesting thank you!

reply to post by KnightwhosaysNi


Good question.
The reference seems a bit vague in the article.