Who discovered the equator. What size is the circumference of the earth

Equator in Latin means "call". It is generally accepted that the equator is a conventional circle dividing the globe into the northern and southern hemispheres, and the longest circle (or parallel) of the Earth, perpendicular to its axis of rotation.

The equator is the starting point for determining the coordinates of any place on the planet. Without it, it would be impossible to determine the exact position in space of any geographical objects, or it would be extremely difficult.

Everyone has long known that, to be academically accurate, the Earth is actually not a sphere, but a geoid. Geoid- a body whose proportions resemble a sphere, but is not one. Indeed, at the highest point of the planet the height is 8,848 m (Mount Everest) and at the lowest - 10,994 m (Mariana Trench) relative to sea level.

That is, if we take into account all the elevation differences, then any calculation will cause a lot of problems. Therefore, in the international community, for simplicity of calculations, our planet is usually considered a sphere. Including the equator is considered a circle, although in reality it is not one.

According to the international standard WGS-84 The radius of the Earth is 6,378,137 m. According to another standard, IAU-1976 and IAU-2000, the radius of the Earth is 6,378,140 m. The difference of three meters is due to the difference in approaches and calculation methods. However, the length of the equator is 40,075 km, whichever standard we take, since after calculating the circumference using the formula l=2πR the difference will only be in the second decimal place.

Calculation history

The first attempts to calculate the length of the equator were made in ancient Greece by Eratosthenes. Although, in fact, if we take the world known at that time, he did not calculate the equator, but the radius of the Earth in the region of Europe, which is tied to the circumference through 2πR. At that time, there was no scientific concept of the Earth as a planet.

Without going into details of the experiment, let us explain its essence. Eratosthenes determined that at the moment when in the city of Siena (now Aswan) the Sun is at its zenith and illuminates the bottom of the well, at the same moment in time in Alexandria it “lags” by about 7 degrees and does not illuminate the bottom of the well. Which, in turn, is approximately 1/50 of the circle. Now, knowing the distance from Siena to Alexandria (it was about 5000 stadia), it was possible to determine the circumference.

All the more unexpected are the results of the calculations. Eratosthenes considered the length of the equator to be 252,000 stadia. But since during his life he lived in both Alexandria (Egypt) and Athens (Greece), historians and geographers still cannot say with certainty which stages Eratosthenes used in his calculations. If Greek, then according to Eratosthenes the radius was 7,082 km, if Egyptian - 6,287 km. Whichever result you take for your time, it was an incredibly accurate calculation of the radius.

Later, attempts to calculate the length of the equator were adopted by many European scientists. For the first time, he spoke about the possible averaging of the radius for the convenience of calculations in calculations Dutchman Snellius. In the 17th century, he proposed calculating the radius without taking into account natural obstacles. In the 18th century, France (the first country) switched to the metric measurement system. Moreover, when calculating the standard of length, French scientists were tied precisely to the radius of the Earth.

The calculation was tied to the length of a mathematical pendulum, the half-cycle of which is one second. For its time, the idea was breakthrough. However, when traveling to southern latitudes, the French cartographer Jean Richet noticed that the period of oscillation had increased. The reason was that the Earth is a geoid and gravity decreases closer to the equator.

Research in Russia

In the Russian Empire, research was also carried out to determine the shape, length and other parameters of the Earth. Perhaps the largest and most important of them was project "Russian Arc" or "Struve Arc" under the leadership of Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve (Vasily Yakovlevich Struve). To carry out measurements, 265 triangulation points were constructed, which were 258 triangles with a common side. The length of the arc was 2820 km, which is 1/14 of the circumference of the Earth. The arc at that time passed through the territory of Norway, Sweden and the Russian Empire. The research was personally financed by Emperor Alexander I, and later by Nicholas I.

This project was the first of the measurements of the Earth, which accurately determined its shape and parameters. When measuring Earth parameters using satellite methods in the 20th century, Struve’s measurement error was 2 cm.

In the Soviet Union, the geodetic school also made attempts to calculate the parameters of the Earth's ellipsoid. In 1940, thanks to the work of A.N. Izotov and F.N. Krasovsky's ellipsoid was calculated and adopted as a standard for geodetic work in the USSR, which determines all the main parameters of the Earth's ellipsoid. According to Krasovsky, the following parameters are accepted:

The Earth's minor radius (polar radius) is 6,356.863 km.
Large radius (equatorial) 6,378.245 km.
The length of the equator is 40,075.696 km.
The surface area of the Earth is 510,083,058 km2.

These facts will be interesting to know:

A car in Russia travels 40,075 km on average in two years.
The Earth's rotation speed at the equator is 465 meters per second, which is faster than the speed of sound. This is related to the preference for launching spacecraft closer to the equator. At launch, the rocket is already moving at supersonic speed relative to the Earth. This saves fuel significantly.
The only glacier on the equator is the cap of the Cayamba volcano in Ecuador.
When moving from the pole to the equator, objects and bodies lose 0.53% of their mass. This is due to the distance from the Earth's center of mass.
Not a single traveler has yet managed to walk along the earth's part of the equator.
In Brazil, in the city of Macapa there is a football stadium, in the middle of which the equator line runs.

Video

You will learn a lot of useful information about the Earth from this video.

Where does the equator lie and what is it, what is its duration, and why did scientists even need to come up with this imaginary line? Let's talk about all this in more detail.

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Definition of the concept

The equator is a conventional line that runs exactly through the center of our planet. Geographical latitude of the equator- 0 degrees. It serves as a reference point and allows scientists to carry out various calculations, which will be discussed below. The equator divides the globe into two absolutely equal parts.

Important! In the territories along which the equator passes, night is always equal to day, without deviation even for a split second.

The equatorial zone receives the greatest amount of ultraviolet rays. Consequently, the further a point is from the conditional line, the less heat and light it receives. That is why the highest temperatures were recorded in the area of the conventional line.

Purpose

To carry out various calculations, scientists need to identify special dividers of the planet, which are the equator, parallels and meridians.

These conditional lines make it possible to determine the position of various objects, enable planes to navigate in, and ships - to.

In addition, it is this strip that allows scientists to divide the entire territory of the planet into climatic zones or belts.

In fact, the circumference of the equator is a key metric characteristic that is taken into account. It helps not only in sciences such as geodesy or elementary geography, but also in astrology and astronomy.

The territories of fourteen states are currently located on the equator. The political map of the world is constantly changing: countries appear and disappear, their borders can expand or contract. Which states are we talking about:

Brazil,
Ecuador,
Indonesia,
Maldives and other countries.

What is the circumference of the Earth at the equator

According to the most accurate calculations, the length of the equator in kilometers is 40075 km. But the length of the Earth's equator in miles reaches 24901 miles.

As for such a concept as radius, it can be polar and equatorial. The dimensions of the first in kilometers reach 6356, and the second – 6378 km

All areas located in close proximity to this imaginary line have a warm and humid climate.

It is no coincidence that life is simply bustling in these areas. This is where the greatest concentration is concentrated variety of plant and animal species.

Equatorial forests are considered the densest in the world, and some of them are even impenetrable wilds, even taking into account all modern scientific achievements.

Precipitation in the equatorial zone is almost daily and very heavy. It is precisely because everything that is located and grows here shines with a wide variety of colors.

On the planet there is a volcano called Wolf. So, the fact is that it is currently active and, interestingly, is on both sides of the conditional line.

Attention! The average annual temperature in this zone reaches 25-30 degrees Celsius.

High temperatures all year round make the countries that are in this region an ideal holiday destination for tourists. This is especially true for popular resorts located in the Maldives, where millions of vacationers from all over the world come every year.

Important! There is a glacier at the equator. It is located at an altitude of 4690 meters on the slope of a volcano called Cayambe.

This is an amazing place, especially for... The fact is that the speed of rotation of the Earth on this conventional line reaches more than 460 meters per second.

The speed of sound reaches only 330 meters per second. Consequently, any spacecraft that are launched from here already seem to launch at supersonic speed.

We talked about the extent of the equator, what role it plays in modern human life. As many as three countries are named as part of it.

Without this conditional line, people would not be able to accurately determine the location of the island or even famous city. All planes and ships are guided by a conventional map of latitudes and parallels, where the key place is played by a line that crosses the Earth in exactly two halves.

The Congo River crosses the Earth's midline twice.

What is the equator, its characteristics

Calculate the length of the Earth's equator

Conclusion

The length of the equator is 40,075 kilometers. So that you can appreciate how huge this is, let’s compare it with the mileage of a regular passenger car. On average, a regular Nissan Juke needs three years to cover a similar distance. This line divides the planet into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It is here that the wettest regions of the planet are located, where the largest number of species of animals and plants, which we are accustomed to call exotic, are concentrated. It is here, in countries with a very warm climate, that the largest number of tourists come.

Scientists take the exact circumference of the Earth at the equator as a key characteristic for various calculations.

Without taking into account basic geographical calculations, the value helps in such sciences as geodesy and astronomy. This value can be determined in kilometers, miles or meters.

The circumference of the Earth along the equator in kilometers was calculated back in ancient times, because people have always been interested in the parameters of our planet.

Currently, the following astronomical values have been determined:	Name	Unit measurements
Index	Maximum distance from the Sun	152
million km	Maximum distance from the Sun	147
Minimum distance from the Sun	Polar diameter	12,71
thousand km	Polar diameter	12,75
Equatorial diameter	Average surface t	12,71
0 C		60
Maximum t		90
Minimum t	Period of revolution around the Sun	365,3
day	Duration of rotation around an axis	23,9
hour	Weight	5,9722* 10 24
kg	Volume	1,08321*10 12
km 3	Polar diameter	939120
Orbit length	Average density	5,51-10
g/cm 3	Number of satellites	PC.
1 (Moon)	Polar diameter	384,4

Distance between the Moon and Earth (average)

Currently, the following astronomical values have been determined:	The globe consists of the following elements:	Depth, km
% of total volume	5-70	1
Bark	35-2890	70-80
Mantle	2890-6371	Core

Scientists have determined that the described celestial body was formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago. One of the differences between the Earth and the rest of the solar system is that it is suitable for life. This factor is explained by the distance between the ball and the Sun (about 150 million km).

The basis of life is water, and the earth's surface is covered with water by 71%. Also, a significant role in creating favorable living conditions is played by its atmosphere, which consists of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%) and argon (1%).

The area of our planet in which living organisms live is called the biosphere., and it originates from the bottom of the deepest oceanic depressions, and extends up to 9 thousand km. n. mind.

Shape of the Earth

The circumference and diameter of the globe vary because its configuration is an oblate ellipsoid or spheroid instead of a regular sphere. The Earth's poles are slightly compressed, which causes a bulge on the main meridian and, accordingly, its diameter and circumference increase.

Gravity and the daily rotation of our planet play an important role here. In this case, centrifugal force appears, reaching its maximum at the equator and decreasing towards the poles. This affects the discrepancy in diameters (equatorial - 12754 km, and polar - 12711 km.)

Local topography is a minor factor in the formation of the planet's shape (different continental heights and tidal deformations influence this).

To describe the earth's shape in astronautics and geodesy, they usually prefer to call it the following terms:

Ellipsoid of revolution, which is obtained as a result of the daily rotation of the Earth around its axis.
Geoid, which is a stereometric object with irregular shapes. Its imaginary surface approximately converges with the surface of the world's oceans and extends to the continental zone. The concept of “height above sea level”, used in geographical reference books and atlases, reports precisely from this plane. In reality, the level of the water surface does not always coincide with the geoid, which is due to the divergence of temperature regimes in different parts of the globe, the salinity of the world's water bodies and atmospheric pressure.

Equator - what is it and why is it needed?

The equator is a virtual circle that encircles the entire Earth and stretches through its middle. It has been established that this is the longest parallel on earth, and its length in kilometers is 40075. The equator line lies perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the globe and is at an identical distance from both poles.

When determining the prime meridian, scientists use a symbolic circle whose radius is equal to the average radius of the Earth. The first person who was able to roughly calculate the length of a conditional line was the Greek geographer, astronomer and philologist Eratosthenes in the 3rd century. BC. Subsequently, many scientists tried to calculate the length of the equator.

In the 17th century The Dutch astronomer Snell called for calculating the length of a conditional circle without taking into account the obstacles placed on it (mountains and hills), and in the middle of the 19th century Soviet astronomer-geodesist F. Krassovsky was able to calculate the extent of the earth's ellipse, which is now taken as a standard during scientific development and research.

The equatorial belt on geographic maps allows scientists to make calculations, establish the location of various natural objects and understand climatic zones.

The conventional line (equator) is located closest to the center of our solar system and therefore receives the greatest number of thermal radiations.

In turn, the greater the distance from the pole boundary a territory is located, the colder it is. In the equatorial zone, summer lasts constantly, and the air masses are hot and humid, due to regular evaporation. Here, day and night have the same duration, and 2 times a year (on the days of the equinox) the sun's rays fall vertically downwards.

How to measure the circumference of the Earth

The circumference of the Earth along the equator in kilometers is currently measured using measuring equipment and satellites.

But you can calculate this value without using sophisticated tools. As did the ancient Greek scientist Erastophenes, who worked in a scientific center consisting of an observatory, vivarium and laboratory.

He was in charge of the library of this complex and was considered a very well-read person. One day, from traveling fellow citizens, he learned about an extraordinary phenomenon that occurred in Siena (to the south of Alexandria). Traveling wanderers reported that on the first summer day (the warmest day of the year) at 12 noon, shadows disappeared in this settlement.

The solar disk was exactly overhead, and the rays it sent fell vertically down to the ground. If you look at the surface of the reservoir, you could see the image of the Sun at its bottom. The astronomer returned to his native settlement and noticed that on the longest day of the year at noon, the walls of the building continued to cast a shadow on the ground.

Taking into account his tracking, he was able to calculate the size of the earth's conventional circumference. This method was as follows. Due to the gigantic distance between our planet and the solar disk, heat rays descend to the above cities in parallel.

If the Earth had a flat configuration, then shadows would disappear everywhere at the same time at the same moment. But because the planet is curved, in Alexandria (located 500 miles from the city of Siena), the buildings stand at some angle in relation to the Siena buildings. On the hottest afternoon, the scientist measured the shadow cast by the stele.

Knowing the length of this obelisk, he determined the length of the straight line that connects the top of the monument and the shadow end. A conditional triangle has formed. According to the geometric rules established at that time, he determined its angles. And as a result, it turned out that the divergence angle is about 7 0. This factor indicated that Alexandria was displaced along the circular line of the Earth from the city of Siena by this amount.

This angle between populated areas occupies 1/50 of the entire circumference. All closed ring strips have 360 0. The astronomer multiplied the distance between the cities (500 miles) by 50 and found the circumference of the planet - 25 thousand miles. Modern scientists, using high-end equipment, measured this value and obtained 24,894 miles.

Circumference and Radius Calculations

The circumference of the earth at the equator in kilometers is expressed as 40075. It was calculated using the following method:

Or = 2* π *radius

According to scientists' calculations, it is known that the polar radius is slightly shorter than the equatorial radius. The value of the first of them is 6356.8 km, and the second is 6378.2 km.

The difference in indicators is 21 km. In this case, there are 2 options:

Calculation of the earth's circumference by equatorial value: 2 * 3.1415 * 6378.2 = 40074
Calculation using polar parameters: 2*3.1415*6356.8=39940

Countries along the equator

The equatorial line passes through 13 countries. If you start from the prime meridian and move east, the list looks like this:

How long does it take to circumnavigate the Earth on foot?

Scientists have long calculated the circumference of the Earth at the equator in kilometers. Based on the established length, you can find out how long it will take to cover this distance on foot.

To determine this value, simple calculations should be carried out:

If you follow this route non-stop at a speed of 5 km/h, it will take about 8000 hours or almost 1 year. (40075/5=8015/24=333).
If we assume that the surface of the planet is smooth (without water and mountains) and a person moves at a speed of 6 km/hour, then the journey will take about 9-10 months. (40075/6=6680/24=278 days). Each month has an average of 30 days, which means: 278/30=9.3. In reality, it is impossible to walk all the time without breaks. For safety reasons, the traveler should walk no more than 6 hours per day. This significantly increases the time required for the hike. (6680/6=1113 days). Considering that there are 365 days in a year, you will need 3 g and 18 days.

Collected interesting features about the equator:

All territories adjacent to the equator are characterized by humid and warm climatic conditions. They contain the largest variety of flora and fauna.
Equatorial forests are the densest on the globe, and some areas have impenetrable thickets.
Precipitation in the equator region is heavy and falls almost every day. This factor gives the vegetation brightness and picturesqueness.
High temperatures make states located in the equator an ideal area for tourist recreation throughout the year.
An active volcano called Wolf (Ecuador) is located on both sides of the meridian.
African river Congo crosses the conventional cross-sectional line of the globe 2 r.
In the north of the meridian, when draining, the water rotates clockwise, and in the south in the opposite direction.
The circumference of the Earth along the equator makes it possible for modern scientists to divide the entire earth's territory into climatic zones.
The Brazilian municipality of Macapa is located in both hemispheres. Also built here is the Zeran stadium, which is intersected by an earthly circle in the center of the field. Nearby there is a monument called “Marco Zero”, dedicated to the main parallel. From this monument almost to the banks of the river. The Amazon stretches "Equatorial Street".
In San Antonio (Ecuador) there is a museum ensemble and obelisk “The Middle Part of the World”.
The word equator is translated from Latin as “to align.” In fact, the circle divides the planet into almost 2 identical hemispheres. The parts of the ball may differ from one another due to the fact that the Earth does not have ideal shapes.
On the equatorial strip there is endless summer, and daily temperatures do not differ greatly. This is due to the fact that the rays of the sun in this place uniformly heat the earth's surface.
The Earth's rotation speed at the meridian is 465 m/s.
The first to accurately calculate the length of the line encircling the planet was the ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician E. Kirensky. According to his calculations, the length of this trajectory is 250 thousand stadia, or 40 thousand km, which does not differ much from modern, more accurate calculations.
The equator passes through 33 islands.
0.53% of their weight is lost by objects when moving from the poles to the equatorial zone, which is due to centrifugal force and distance from the center of the globe.
The geostationary orbit is located at an altitude of 35.8 thousand km above the main parallel. Above it are communication satellites. The pulse travels there and back at the speed of light in just ¼ second.
The equatorial territory occupies only 5% of the planet's surface, but it is in this area that almost ½ of the world's animal diversity lives.
According to the ancient custom of sailors, all ships crossing the meridian were supposed to celebrate Neptune's Day. During this celebration, the recruits had to perform a special ritual. It consisted in the fact that the old-timers coated the new ones with fuel oil, then forced them to swim in the sea or pool and cut off their hair and beards with an ax. The sailors who passed this ceremony were given a separate document, which saved them from going through this consecration again.

Interestingly, the circumference of the Earth at the equator allows humanity to determine the location of geographical points, and ships and planes to orient themselves correctly.

Knowing this figure in kilometers, you can estimate how large this value is.

Article format: Svetlana Ovsyanikova

Video on the topic: calculating the circumference of the Earth according to Eratosthenes

How to calculate the circumference of the Earth according to Eratosthenes:

Like all the planets in the solar system, the Earth has a spherical shape. Before talking about its exact dimensions, let's introduce a few important geographical concepts.

The earth rotates around an imaginary straight line - the so-called earth's axis. The points of intersection of the earth's axis with the earth's surface are called poles. There are two of them: North and South. The line of intersection of the surface of the globe with a plane passing through the center of the Earth perpendicular to the earth's axis is called equator. Planes crossing the earth's surface parallel to the equatorial plane form parallels, and the planes passing through the two poles are meridians.

Due to rotation around its axis and the resulting centrifugal force, the Earth is slightly flattened at the poles and its semimajor axis (equatorial radius, rc) is almost 21.4 km greater than the distance from the center of the Earth to the poles. Such a ball flattened at the poles is called spheroid or ellipsoid of revolution.

In Russia, for geodetic and cartographic work, the ellipsoid of F.N. Krasovsky is used (named after the scientist under whose leadership the calculations were carried out). Its dimensions are:

equatorial radius - 6378.2 km,
polar radius - 6356.8,
meridian length - 40008.5 km,
equator length - 40075.7 km,
Earth's surface area is 510 million km 2.

In reality, the figure of the Earth is even more complex. It deviates from the regular shape of the spheroid due to the heterogeneous structure of the subsoil and the uneven distribution of mass. The true geometric figure of the Earth is called geoid(“earth-like”). A geoid is a figure whose surface is everywhere perpendicular to the direction of gravity, i.e. I'll plumb it.

The surface of the geoid coincides with the level surface of the World Ocean (mentally extended under the continents and islands). The rise and fall of the geoid above the spheroid is 500-100 m.

The physical surface of the Earth, complicated by mountains and depressions, does not coincide with the surface of the geoid, retreating from it by several kilometers. Gravity constantly strives to level the surface of the Earth, to bring it into line with the surface of the geoid.

Today, any schoolchild who has not skipped geography classes will be able to answer the question posed in the title of the article. The length of the equator is just over forty thousand kilometers. But people did not always have this information, so first let’s dive into history.

The earth stands on three pillars...

Even at the very dawn of human civilization, in the Neolithic era, people began to think about the structure of the world around them, the structure of the Earth. In many ways, their ideas were based on mythology, with the help of which attempts were made to explain natural phenomena and the movement of heavenly bodies. Due to the lack of written sources, modern historians cannot say with certainty what Neolithic man thought about the structure of the Earth. However, later, after the invention of signs that made it possible to preserve ancient wisdom, it became possible to create entire scientific treatises. And one of the ancient Indian texts reflected the theory that the flat Earth rests on three giant whales, and the whales swim in the ocean. What the ocean rests on is not stated in the treatise. But what can we say about ancient people, if even today in the USA, as if confirming the words of Mikhail Zadornov, there is a “Flat Earth Society”, whose members defend their point of view, and explain the entire space program as a global conspiracy!

From geocentric...

However, with the development of science, the three pillars ceased to satisfy scientists, and in ancient Greece a theory appeared, according to which the Earth, shaped like a ball, is in the center of the universe, and the Sun, Moon and stars revolve around it. The outstanding astronomer of antiquity, Ptolemy, also adhered to this point of view.

... to the heliocentric theory of the structure of the solar system

Although this theory was a big step forward, it could not explain all the visible changes in the starry sky, so the heliocentric theory was developed in parallel with the geocentric one, but many more years passed until the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was able to prove its validity.

Equator

The adoption of the heliocentric theory made it possible to define the concept of “equator”. This is an imaginary line that runs along the surface of the Earth in a plane passing through its center and perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the planet. But if we have sorted out the definition, then the debate about what the length of the equator is still does not subside. To measure this value, without modern instruments, people needed to at least reach this line.

The first sailors

Navigation first appeared in the Mediterranean Sea and was a coastal navigation, that is, along the coast without losing sight of it. However, the Phoenicians soon learned to determine the position of their ship by the stars and were able to break away from the shores. Passing through the Pillars of Hercules (Strait of Gibraltar), they entered the Atlantic Ocean, crossed the equator and circled Africa. One evidence of such voyages is the famous White Lady of Brandberg, a rock cave painting in Namibia. However, reaching the border between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres still did not make it possible to determine the length of the equator.

Age of Discovery

Soon people became so friendly with the sea-ocean that they began to sail further and further from their native shores. Loud discoveries of new lands and sea routes followed: America, a waterway to India, Australia. And finally, Magellan's first trip around the world. This Portuguese navigator was the first to decide how long the equator actually is. And he led an expedition that set itself the task of circumnavigating the globe. But this is all a joke. Ferdinand Magellan actually traveled around the world, but not strictly along the equator, but as the geography of the oceans allowed.

From travelers to scientists

Since it is quite difficult to determine such a quantity as the length of the equator by direct measurement “on the ground,” some scientists decided to find the required number using mathematical calculations. The first to undertake such work was the ancient Greek mathematician Eratosthenes. At the invitation of the Egyptian king Ptolemy III, he moved to Alexandria, where he soon became the keeper of its library. After conducting a series of complex experiments and calculations, he determined that the length of the Earth's equator was 252,000 stadia. Since Eratosthenes lived and worked in Alexandria, he used Egyptian stages. If we convert them into our usual kilometers, then the length of the equator will be 39,690 kilometers, which is quite close to the true value. The error is less than 1 percent; for those times, the accuracy of the calculations was simply amazing.

The length of the Earth at the equator through the eyes of modern scientists

Years and centuries passed. Measuring instruments and techniques were improved. Humanity went into space and was able to create detailed maps of the earth's surface. Accordingly, the length of the equator was determined more accurately. The line of zero latitude runs along the earth's surface, which has height differences relative to the level of the world's oceans from 10,994 meters (Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench) to 8,848 meters (Mount Chomolungma). And although such sharp changes in heights are not observed directly at the equator, this still makes it very difficult to measure its length. Therefore, for calculations, the average radius of the Earth was adopted, which, according to the geophysical standard WGS-84, is equal to 6378 kilometers 137 meters, which gives the length of the equator 40,075 km.

Is the length of the equator constant?

Now let’s try to answer the question of what is the reason for the discrepancy in the values of the length of the equator between modern scientists and Eratosthenes. Perhaps the whole point is not only the imperfection of measuring instruments? What if the equator simply became longer? Modern scientists adhere to the theory of the structure of the Earth and continental drift based on plate tectonics. However, back in 1968, the Soviet geologist Vladimir Larin put forward the theory of the hydride structure of the Earth's core. He suggested that the substance from which our planet was formed contained a large amount of atomic hydrogen. It reacted with iron and nickel, which make up the Earth's core, resulting in the formation of hydrides of these elements. As a result of internal processes in the bowels of the planet, the core gradually warms up and hydrogen is released. This leads to a decrease in density and, accordingly, to an increase in the size of the Earth. This theory not only more fully explains the “drift” of continents, but also helps explain the formation of mineral deposits, primarily hydrocarbons. So it is quite possible that oil, gas, and coal are of abiogenic origin, and their synthesis in the bowels of the planet continues to occur at the present time. Moreover, confirmation of the work of the Soviet scientist was also found in ancient Zoroastrian myths, where it is said that in order to increase the surface of the Earth, the gods increased its size three times by one third. This theory, among other things, makes it possible to explain the mass extinction in a short period of time of many species of ancient animals, the so-called Triassic massacre. The most interesting thing is that the radius of the planet is still increasing at the present time, by about two centimeters per year. This is confirmed by regular measurements by scientists, but previously these results could not be explained, unless one considers the Earth’s absorption of dust from outer space. So over time the length of the equator will increase.