GRACE Gravity Model of Earth

The following animation displays the Earth's gravitational anomolies. The colors and heights represent the strength of gravity at the locality. Areas with less mass, such as ocean basins, show up as blue, that is less gravity, while mountains such as the Andes are red, representing the greater pull of gravity. The visualization utilizes a version of the GRACE Gravity Model 02 that has been smoothed for greater readability.

Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• GRACE mission
• gravity model
• gravitational anomolies

[OfficialFrizzo]

So you would weigh more in the Andes? Sounds like bullshit.

[djxatlanta]

@OfficialFrizzo - indeed you would, and it's not bullshit but basic science. A greater amount of mass exerts a greater amount of gravitational pull... but it is extremely minute. Only the sensitive instruments on GRACE and on ESA's GOCE satellite can pick up these tiny gravity variations. Now admittedly, the difference in weight for a person would be very very small -- probably only a fraction of an ounce.

[FieldMajor76]

I wonder if Micheal Jordan could dunk from the free throw line in the Andes.