The Earth: How is its shape in reality

We have always believed that the shape of the Earth is round. But is it really so? Geodesy is the science in charge of studying the morphology, structure and evolution of our planet. It is a kind of engineering that tries to represent the surface of the Earth with its natural and artificial forms. Scientists make use of highly complex mathematical calculations to determine the curvature. Is the shape of the Earth round? On many occasions we have seen our planet in images taken from space, and it really seems that its shape is round. However, the reality is different. It is a spheroid with an uneven surface, slightly flattened at the poles, which is scientifically called the ellipsoid of revolution, but what is the reason for the flattening of the poles? It is a direct consequence of the rotation of the planet Earth. A centrifugal force is generated that distributes the mass against the axis of rotation in the area of the equator. According to experts in geodesy, the morphology of the Earth is a hypothetical sphere with a radius of 6,731 kilometers. Now, the radius is not exactly the same all over the planet. While at the poles it is 6,357 kilometers, in Ecuador it reaches its maximum length with 6,378 kilometers. The approximate shape of planet Earth is the ellipsoid. It is important to know that both the density and the mass distribution are not homogeneous and, therefore, neither is the distribution of the gravity field. Scientists use geoids to carry out calculations and create a more or less exact representation of the Earth.In theory, a geoid has the shape that our planet would have if it were 100% covered by the oceans and if they were only affected by the force of rotation and gravity. The surface and the exact shape of the Earth are constantly changing, and experts keep track of it in real time using GPS receivers, so they can know with great accuracy what the shape of the Earth is and how it evolves as it passes. weather.