Grace Maps the Earth’s Gravitational Field
The US-German Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment mission (aka Grace) has taken the last two weeks to produce the most detailed map of the Earth’s gravitational field – lumps and all. Launched in March, the twin spacecraft have been orbiting the planet 16 times a day, 220 km apart from one another. A ground-based microwave ranging system measures the distance between them to see how they speed up and slow down due to changes in gravity. And this is just the low res version; scientists hope to have even more detailed maps by the end of the year.
Recent Posts
New Study Examines Cosmic Expansion, Leading to a New Drake Equation
In 1960, in preparation for the first SETI conference, Cornell astronomer Frank Drake formulated an…
Pentagon’s Latest UFO Report Identifies Hotspots for Sightings
The Pentagon office in charge of fielding UFO reports says that it has resolved 118…
A New Way to Detect Daisy Worlds
The Daisy World model describes a hypothetical planet that self-regulates, maintaining a delicate balance involving…
Two Supermassive Black Holes on the Verge of a Merger
Researchers have been keeping an eye on the center of a galaxy located about a…
Interferometry Will Be the Key to Resolving Exoplanets
When it comes to telescopes, bigger really is better. A larger telescope brings with it…
A New Mission To Pluto Could Answer the Questions Raised by New Horizons
Pluto may have been downgraded from full-planet status, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hold…