The reason for which the round shape of Earth and whether Earth perfectly spherical or not.
Answer to Problem 1QFR
The round shape of Earth is because of gravity. The Earth is not perfectly spherical. It is of the shape oblate spheroid.
Explanation of Solution
Gravity is the fundamental reason behind the shapes of planets, stars, and galaxies. Every object having mass possesses its own gravity and as far as a planet is concerned, its gravity tend to pull the matter in it equally from all directions. This pull from the center to the edges is just like the spokes of the wheel of a bicycle.
The equal pull towards all directions outward the planet makes the overall shape of the planet to be round in nature. Due to spinning, the extent of gravitational pull is high at the equator and hence there is a bulging at the equatorial region of Earth. This gives an oblate spheroid shape for Earth rather than a perfect spherical shape.
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Chapter 6 Solutions
Loose Leaf For Explorations: Introduction To Astronomy
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- It is estimated that the mass of the earth is 5.98 x 1024 kg; its mean radius is 6.38 x 106 m. Find its density in gm/cm³ and lbm/ft³. Compare this value to the density of water (62. 4 lbm/ft³).arrow_forwardIf Earth rotated once every 48 hours, and everything else was the same, which of the following statements would not be true? High tide would happen less frequently. The length of a day would be longer. The length of the year would be longer. The daytime temperatures would be higher on average. There would still be summer and winter in the temperature zones.arrow_forwardIf the Moon's disk subtends a maximum angle of 0° 31' 36.8" at the surface of the Earth, what is the Moon's radius?arrow_forward
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