Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Earth smaller than thought

|
|
 
  
Published: July 6, 2007 at 1:04 PM
Advertisement

BONN, Germany, July 6 (UPI) -- German researchers say their discovery that the Earth is smaller than originally thought may have serious ramifications for climate change.

The difference is minute -- all of five millimeters -- but that is crucial to studying how climate changes the Earth, said researchers at Bonn University.

Five millimeters (0.2 inches) is less than half the width of an average finger, which may seem negligible in comparison to the earth's diameter of 7,926.3812 miles.

But "it is essential for the positioning of the satellites that can measure rises in sea level," said lead researcher Axel Nothnagel. "If the ground stations tracking the satellites are not accurate to the millimeter, then the satellites cannot be accurate, either."

Nothnagel's team worked for two years using radio waves to measure the Earth's diameter, Deutsche Welle reported Friday.

Topics: Deutsche Welle
© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The making of the Oscars The Chicago Auto Show 2011: The year in space
Mercedes-Benz fashion week In New York Tu Bishvat Migron settlement The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China
Additional Science News Stories
1 of 25
Meryl Streep and Colin Firth attend the "BAFTA" ceremony in London
View Caption
fark
High school coach retires at 65 after getting arrested nude, "aroused" in car backseat with 17-year-old...
Man arrested for stealing $25k worth of Tide detergent. Witnesses say the suspect appeared quite...
News: Two cars fighting gun battle on Interstate accidentally fire into car of innocent women. Fark:...
Dads, before showing "The Smurfs" DVD from your laptop at your kid's birthday party, make sure you...
It's a Jeep thing. You wouldn't understand
Baby shower ends with three people stabbed after a drunken argument between relatives of mom-to-be...