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NASA Model Reveals Earth Is Actually Shaped Like a Potato
The model uses 15 years of satellite data and 1 billion observations to track ice loss, groundwater depletion and drought worldwide.
- NASA released a new 3D model visualizing Earth's gravitational field, revealing a lumpy shape far different from the smooth Blue Marble seen from space.
- Scientists created this model using data from The GRACE satellites, which represent the surface determined by Earth's own gravity and rotation with heights exaggerated 10,000 times.
- The dataset spans 15 years with a billion observations, revealing Antarctica has lost approximately 135 gigatons of ice annually since 2002, while Greenland has lost 264 gigatons per year.
- Beyond ice, The GRACE observations track groundwater depletion worldwide; analysis from the University of Nebraska shows soil moisture near record lows, while extreme dryness fueling fires in Spain and France is visible in the data.
- NASA and the European Space Agency maintain satellites to monitor gravitational fields; NASA also shared an interactive 3D model and video, demonstrating that measuring gravity offers value beyond creating jarring visuals.
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12 Articles
NASA has released a new three-dimensional model that reveals what the Earth would look like if its shape were dictated only by gravity. The result is far from the blue and perfect sphere to which we are...
·Lisboa, Portugal
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The space agency released a representation that exaggerates the planet's irregularities. The dataset covers a period of 15 years and includes more than a billion observations.
·Lisboa, Portugal
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NASA has released an image of what it calls the geoid, which is a graphic projection of how gravity affects the various points on the planet.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources12
Leaning Left1Leaning Right1Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 25%
C 50%
R 25%
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