2007-08-20 05:21:47 · 11 answers · asked by BOO! 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
It's called an oblate spheroid. The distance pole to pole is 26 miles greater than from opposite sides of the equator.
2007-08-20 05:26:24 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
If you mean is it "full"?, yes you can take a boat or an airplane (or a space shuttle) and move completely around it and end up in the same place you started.
If you mean, is it a *perfect* sphere -- the answer is no. It bulges slightly at the equator, and there are other anomalies due to overall density that cause it to not be a perfect sphere. Even the mountains, valleys, and the same things under the ocean surface cause it not to be a perfect sphere.
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2007-08-20 12:27:13 · answer #2 · answered by tlbs101 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not a perfect sphere -- it's a bit flat at the poles and bulges slightly at the equator. A bit like when you take fresh pizza dough and spin it in the air to stretch and flatten it out -- the Earth's rotation is sorta doing the same thing.
But you need some pretty sensitive equipment to measure it.
2007-08-20 12:25:05 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Has a bit fallen off? It's an oblate spheroid, a sphere flattened at the poles.
2007-08-20 12:30:21 · answer #4 · answered by Chariotmender 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
[Edit] Hey man, the Reverend stole my pizza dough analogy!
[Original Post]
No. It actually expands outward at the equator due to the spinning. Think about the guys who throw pizza dough in the air. The spinning causes the mass in the middle to expand outwards, and Earth did this to a small effect when it was forming.
2007-08-20 12:25:08 · answer #5 · answered by Jon G 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The world isn't round, because of mountains and valleys etc... The geoid model gives a better representation of where the sea level is at anygiven location vs where "round earth model" seal level would be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoid
2007-08-20 12:26:57 · answer #6 · answered by civil_av8r 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sphere - 3 dimensional, circle - 2 dimensional ------ your choice (depends on how you look at things i guess)
2007-08-20 12:34:30 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Very very close but not perfict. The Gravitaional pull of the sun, moon, and even the faint pull of other planets keep it from being "Perfict"
2007-08-20 12:29:02 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is not perfectly spherical, it is slightly squashed at the poles or bulges slightly at the equator whichever way you look at it.
2007-08-20 12:30:16 · answer #9 · answered by tomsp10 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It isn't........ The Earth is flattened at the poles.
2007-08-20 12:34:54 · answer #10 · answered by Web Wanderer 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋