Everyone knows that planet Earth has a round shape. But few people can say what size the planet is. What is the circumference of the earth along the equatorial line or along the meridian? What is the diameter of the Earth? We will try to answer these questions in as much detail as possible.
First of all, let's look at the basic concepts, which we will encounter when answering the question about the circumference of the Earth.
What is the equator called? This is a circular line encircling the planet and passing through its center. The equator is perpendicular to the earth's axis of rotation. It is equally distant from one and the other pole. The equator divides the planet into two hemispheres called the Northern and Southern. It plays a big role in determining the climate zones on the planet. The closer to the equator, the hotter the climate, because these areas receive more sunlight.
What are meridians? These are the lines that divide the entire globe. There are 360 of them, that is, each fraction between them is equal to one degree. Meridians run through the poles of the planet. Meridians are used to calculate geographic longitude. The countdown starts from the prime meridian, which is also called the Greenwich meridian, since it runs through the Greenwich Observatory in England. Longitude is called eastern or western, depending on the direction in which the count is taken.
Ancient times
The circumference of the Earth was first measured in Ancient Greece. It was the mathematician Eratosthenes from the city of Siena. At that time it was already known that the planet has a spherical shape. Eratosthenes observed the Sun and noticed that the luminary at the same time of day, when observed from Syene, was located exactly at the zenith, but in Alexandria it had a deviation angle.
These measurements were made by Eratosthenes on the summer solstice. The scientist measured the angle and found that its value was 1/50 of the whole circle, equal to 360 degrees. Knowing the chord of an angle of one degree, it needs to be multiplied by 360. Then Eratosthenes took the interval between two cities (Siena and Alexandria) as the length of the chord, assumed that they were on the same meridian, made calculations and named the figure 252 thousand stadia. This number meant the circumference of the Earth.
For that time, such measurements were considered accurate, because there were no ways to measure the circumference of the Earth more accurately. Modern scientists admit that the value calculated by Eratosthenes turned out to be quite accurate, despite the fact that:
- these two cities - Siena and Alexandria are not located on the same meridian;
- the ancient scientist obtained the figure based on the days of travel of camels, but they did not walk in a perfectly straight line;
- it is unknown what instrument the scientist used to measure angles;
- it is not clear what the stage used by Eratosthenes was equal to.
However, scientists still maintain an opinion about the accuracy and uniqueness of the method of Eratosthenes, who first measured the diameter of the Earth.
In the Middle Ages
In the 17th century, a Dutch scientist named Sibelius invented a method for calculating distances using theodolites. These are special instruments for measuring angles, used in geodesy. Sibelius's method was called triangulation; it consisted of constructing triangles and measuring their bases.
Triangulation is still practiced today. Scientists have conventionally divided the entire surface of the globe into triangular areas.
Russian studies
Scientists from Russia in the 19th century also contributed to the issue of measuring the length of the equator. The research was carried out at the Pulkovo Observatory. The process was led by V. I Struve.
If earlier the Earth was considered a ball of an ideal shape, then later facts accumulated according to which the force of gravity decreased from the equator to the poles. Scientists have tried to explain this phenomenon. There were several theories. The most popular of them was considered the theory about the compression of the Earth from both poles.
To test the validity of the hypothesis, the French Academy organized expeditions in 1735 and 1736. As a result, scientists measured the length of the equatorial and polar degrees at two points on the globe - in Peru and Lapland. It turned out that at the equator the degree has a shorter length. Thus, it was found that the polar circumference of the Earth is 21.4 kilometers smaller than the equator circumference.
Nowadays, after error-free and accurate research, it has been established that the circumference of the Earth at the equator is 40075.7 km, and along the meridian - 40008.55 km.
It is also known that:
- The semimajor axis of the Earth (the radius of the planet at the equator) is 6378245 meters;
- the polar radius, that is, the semiminor axis, is 6356863 meters.
Scientists have calculated the surface area of the Earth and determined the figure of 510 million square meters. km. Land occupies 29% of this area. The volume of the blue planet is 1083 billion cubic meters. km. The mass of the planet is determined by the figure 6x10^21 tons. The share of water in this value is 7%.
Video
Since the stars are in space are too far from the Earth, using the parallax effect, you can, knowing the distance between the observation points D (base) and the displacement angle α in radians, determine the distance to the object:
for small angles:
parallax effect: (a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object is considered from two different viewing points), the only reason for the change in the measured angle of the north star is the curvature of the Earth's circumference.
The angular diameter of the Moon and the Sun is almost the same: 0.5 degrees.
Our ancient astronomers/ Priests, priests / could measure the position of the northern star with an accuracy of 1 degree. Using such an angle measuring instrument (astrolabe), calibrated in degrees, he could obtain fairly accurate results (perhaps with a 0.25% degree of accuracy).
If one of our astronomers made this measurement from a location at point (A) near Giza (30 0 C), the star Mizar should have appeared about 41 degrees above the local horizon. If a second astronomer were located 120 nautical miles south of *point (A) (*measured in ancient units of length, of course), he would have noticed that the same object (star) had an altitude of 39 degrees (2 degrees lower than than the height measured at the location).
These 2 simple measurements would have allowed ancient astronomers to calculate the circumference of the Earth with fairly high accuracy:
(360/2) * 120 nautical miles = 21600 nautical miles, from which the diameter of the Earth can be estimated as: 21600 nautical miles / (22/7) (ancient Egyptian estimates of Pi) = = 6873 nautical miles = 12728 km
Note: modern and accurate data: Circumference of the Earth between the North and South Poles:
21,602.6 nautical miles = 24,859.82 miles (40008 km) Diameter of the Earth at the equator: 6,887.7 nautical miles = 7,926.28 km (12,756.1 km)
The equator is an imaginary circular line that encircles the entire globe and passes through the center of the Earth.
The equator line is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of our planet and is located at an equal distance from both poles.
Equator: what is it and why is it needed?
So, the equator is an imaginary line. Why did serious scientists need to imagine some lines outlining the Earth? Then, the equator, like meridians, parallels and other dividers of the planet, which exist only in the imagination and on paper, make it possible to make calculations, navigate in the sea, on land and in the air, determine the location of various objects, etc.
The equator divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and serves as the origin of geographic latitude: the latitude of the equator is 0 degrees. It helps to navigate the planet's climate zones. The equatorial part of the Earth receives the largest amount of sunlight. Accordingly, the further the territories are located from the equatorial line and the closer they are to the poles, the less sun they receive.
The equatorial region is an eternal summer, where the air is always hot and very humid due to constant evaporation. At the equator, day is always equal to night. The sun is at its zenith - it shines vertically downwards - only at the equator and only twice a year (on those days on which the equinoxes occur in most geographic zones of the Earth).
The equator passes through 14 countries. Cities located directly on the line: Macapa (Brazil), Quito (Ecuador), Nakuru and Kisumu (Kenya), Pontinac (Kalimanta island, Indonesia), Mbandaka (Republic of the Congo), Kampala (capital of Uganda).
Equator length
The equator is the longest parallel to the Earth. Its length is 40.075 km. The first who was able to approximately calculate the extent of the equator was Eratosthenes, an ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician. To do this, he measured the time during which the sun's rays reached the bottom of a deep well. This helped him calculate the length of the radius of the Earth and, accordingly, the equator thanks to the formula for circumference.
It should be noted that the Earth is not a perfect circle, so its radius differs slightly in different parts. For example, the radius at the equator is 6378.25 km, and the radius at the poles is 6356.86 km. Therefore, to solve problems of calculating the length of the equator, the radius is taken equal to 6371 km.
The length of the equator is one of the key metric characteristics of our planet. It is used for calculations not only in geography and geodesy, but in astronomy and astrology.
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Gabon
- Republic of the Congo
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Uganda
- Kenya
- Somalia
- Maldives
- Indonesia
- Kiribati
- Ecuador
- Colombia
- Brazil
And I only got 14 countries:
- Sao Tome and Principe - by land;
- Gabon - by land;
- Republic of the Congo - by land;
- Democratic Republic of the Congo - by land;
- Uganda - by land;
- Kenya - by land;
- Somalia - by land;
- Maldives by sea - does not touch land, only by sea;
- Indonesia - by land;
- Kiribati - by land - by economic zone;
- USA, namely Baker Island
- Ecuador - by land;
- Colombia - by land;
- Brazil - by land;
No. The equator passes through 13 countries of the world. Its length is approximately 40 thousand kilometers.
The equator passes through: Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives - maritime zone only, Indonesia,
Kiribati is an exclusive economic zone only,
USA - exclusive economic zone of Baker Island (US Minor Outlying Islands), Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil.
Equator is a conventional line that divides the globe into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Latitude at the equator is 0 and it is from here that the counting of geographic latitudes begins. The equator crosses three continents, such as Africa, Asia and South America. Moreover, it goes through three oceans: Atlantic, Indian and Pacific.
Along the equator there are lucky countries that have the warmest equatorial climate on the planet. Thirteen countries cross the equator: Ecuador and Colombia, Gabon and Congo, Brazil and Uganda, Kenya and Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia, the islands of Sao Tome and Principe, Kiribati and the Maldives. But Europe is the most distant part of the Eurasian continent from the equator.
The equator crosses not 20 countries of the world, but 13, so our answer to the question is No.
There is no correct answer, and according to Wikipedia, the equator passes through 14 countries. And these countries are located on the border of the hemispheres, and the equator accordingly divides these hemispheres into the southern and northern hemispheres.
To accurately answer how many countries the equator line crosses, and in my understanding this line should cross land, you can use a satellite map, which gives the most accurate geographic coordinates.
Let's start with Africa.
The island state of Sao Tome and Principe intersects the equator in the northern part of the island of Rolas
On the African continent the line passes through 6 countries (country names are underlined in red)
The Maldives is not suitable as the equator passes between the islands along the Laccadive Sea
The equator crosses Indonesia
Let's go even further to the right across the Pacific Ocean.
And here the equator does not pass through Kiribati, and the two islands - Jarvis and Baker, which informally belong to the United States, are located in different hemispheres.
In South America, the equator passes through three countries
In total, the equator crosses 11 countries by land.
The answer can be obtained by turning to the Internet or opening a Google map and walking along the entire length of the equator yourself. The second path is much more interesting; you can get acquainted with the geography of this latitude and learn about the existence of states that you have never heard of before. On your way you can come across islands, but their political affiliation is not indicated on the map. In any case, the answer will be negative - NO. The number of countries is significantly less than 20.
To answer this task, we need to take a look at the world map and count the number of countries whose territory is crossed by this imaginary line. It turns out that these countries are the only ones 13 , and that’s if you count the US-controlled Baker Islands, but not 20. So The answer here is NO.
It is believed that this conventional line divides our planet into the Southern Hemisphere and the Northern Hemisphere. This line crosses 13 countries, such as: Indonesia, Somalia, Brazil, Maldives, Ecuador, Gabon, Congo, Colombia and others. Therefore the correct answer is: no.
On Level 330 games in Odnoklassniki Yes or no, the correct answer is - NO.
The statement that the equator passes through 20 countries of the world is not true.
The equator passes through 13 countries of the world.
Need to remember.
The number of countries through which the equator passes is not at all difficult to calculate, and this has been done for a long time. There were thirteen of them. Here you can just take a quick glance at the world map and it will be clear that there will be less than 20 such countries. The answer is NO.
Twenty is a lot; the equator doesn’t have that much length. Now, if the countries were very small, then yes, but otherwise - NO, it does not pass through so many states.
There are only thirteen countries on his way.
No. Here is the list:
Every time we study a world map, the equator appears to us as such a significant detail that it can be difficult to believe in its conditional existence.
The equatorial line can be crossed many times without even noticing it, but there is a wonderful tradition among sailors to organize real celebrations when their ship passes the equator on the sea. What is meant by this concept? What is the length of the equator and why did scientists need to draw it on geographical maps?
What does the word "equator" mean?
Term "equator" associated with the Latin word aequator, meaning "to equalize, to balance" . At the same time, its original interpretation correlates with the more ancient Proto-Indo-European concept of aik, translated as “even”.
The term came into Russian speech from Germany, from where our ancestors borrowed the German word Äquator.
What is the equator?
The equator is an imaginary line that encircles our planet and passes through its center. The line is laid perpendicularly and is located at the same distance from the North and South Pole. Since the planet is not strictly spherical in shape, when designating the equator, scientists adopted a conditional circle, the radius of which is equal to the average radius of the Earth. 
All lines that run south and north of the equator are called parallels and are inferior in length. In the area of the equatorial line, hot summer always reigns, and day equals night. Only here can the Sun be at its zenith, that is, shine strictly vertically in relation to the earth’s surface.
Where is the equator?
The equator divides the Earth into the Southern and Northern Hemispheres and acts as the starting point for geographic latitude. The conditional line stretches through 14 countries, including Ecuador, Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, and Congo. In some places, the equator passes in such a way that it divides individual settlements and geographical features in half.
In particular, the Ecuadorian capital Quito, the Brazilian city of Macapa and the Ecuadorian Wolf volcano are located directly on the line. In addition, the equator crosses 33 islands in Indonesia, Africa's Lake Victoria on the Amazon River.
What is the length of the equator?
To do this, he had to measure the time during which the rays of the Sun reached the well in his yard, and then calculate the length of the radius of the planet and, accordingly, the equator. According to his calculations, the equatorial line was 39,690 km, which, with a small error, practically corresponds to the modern value.
Subsequently, astronomers and mathematicians from many countries around the world tried to calculate the length of the equator. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch scientist Snellius proposed determining the length of a line without taking into account the obstacles located on it (hills, mountain ranges), and in 1941, the Soviet geodesist Fyodor Krasovsky was able to calculate the length of the Earth's ellipse, which is currently the standard for scientific research.
The actual length of the equator, 40,075.696 km, was adopted as a basis by the international organizations IAU and IUGG, taking into account an error of 3 meters, which reflects the existing uncertainty in the average radius of the planet.
Why do we need an equator?
The equator on geographic maps helps scientists make calculations, determine the location of various objects, and navigate the Earth's climate zones. Being closest to the Sun, the imaginary line receives the greatest amount of sunlight; accordingly, the further certain territories are located from the equator, the colder they are. 
The length of the equator is one of the key metric values of the globe. It is used in geodesy and geography, and is also used in sciences such as astrology and astronomy.
The earth is round - this is common knowledge. What else do we know about its shape and size? Which of us can remember from memory how many kilometers the circumference of the Earth is at the equator? What about the meridian? Who knows when and how the circumference of the earth was first measured? Meanwhile, these facts are extremely interesting.
The circumference of the Earth was first measured by Eratosthenes, who lived in the city of Siena. At that time, scientists already knew that the Earth is spherical in shape. Observing the celestial body at different times of the day, Eratosthenes noticed that at the same time the sun, being observed from Syene, is located exactly at the zenith, while in Alexandria on the same day and hour it deviates by a certain angle.
Observations were carried out annually. Having measured this angle using astronomical instruments, the scientist found that it was 1/50 of the full circle.
As you know, a complete circle is equal to 360 degrees. Thus, it is enough to know the chord of an angle of 1 degree (i.e., the distance between points on the Earth’s surface lying on rays with an angular distance between them of 1 degree). Then the resulting value should be multiplied by 360.
Taking the distance between the cities of Alexandria and Syene (5 thousand Egyptian stadia) as the length of the chord and assuming that these cities lie on the same meridian, Eratosthenes made the necessary calculations and named the figure that equaled the circumference of the Earth - 252 thousand Egyptian stadia.
For that time, this measurement was quite accurate, because there were no reliable methods for measuring the distance between cities, and the path from Siena to Alexandria was measured by the speed of the camel caravan.
Subsequently, scientists from different countries repeatedly measured and clarified the value that is the circumference of the Earth. In the 17th century, a Dutch scientist named Sibelius came up with a way to measure distances using the first theodolites - special geodetic instruments. This method was called triangulation and is based on constructing a large number of triangles and measuring the basis of each of them.
The triangulation method is still used today; the entire earth's surface is virtually divided and lined into large triangles.
Russian scientists also contributed to these studies. In the 19th century, the circumference of the Earth was measured by V. Ya. Struve, who led the research.
Until the mid-17th century, the Earth was considered a sphere of regular shape. But later, some facts were accumulated indicating a decrease in the force of gravity from the equator to the pole. Scientists fiercely debated the reasons for this; the most plausible theory was considered to be the compression of the Earth from the poles.
To test this hypothesis, the French Academy organized two independent expeditions (in 1735 and 1736), which measured the length of the equatorial and polar degrees, respectively, in Peru and Lapland. At the equator, the degree, as it turns out, is shorter!
Subsequently, other, more accurate measurements confirmed that the polar circle of the Earth is 21.4 km shorter than the equatorial one.
Currently, high-precision measurements have been made using the latest research methods and modern instruments. In our country, the data obtained by Soviet scientists A. A. Izotov and F. N. Krasovsky have been officially approved. According to these studies, the circumference of our planet along the equator is 40075.7 kilometers, along the meridian - 40008.55 km. The equatorial radius of the globe (the so-called semi-major axis) is equal to 6378245 meters, the polar (semi-minor axis) is 6356863 meters.
510 million sq. kilometers, of which only 29% belongs to land. The volume of the earth's "ball" is 1083 billion cubic meters. kilometers. The mass of our planet is characterized by the figure 6X10^21 tons. Of this, about 7% comes from water resources.
Line equidistant from the poles of the planet
The imaginary line that divides the globe into two hemispheres - Southern and Northern - is called.
Geographic latitude begins at the equator.
The length of the equator is 40075 km.
Above the equator, the Sun can be seen at its zenith twice a year.
The other day, my child and I were looking for geography tests, and we came across an interesting question. It sounds like this: What is or what is called zero latitude? It's great, isn't it?-). Here is the answer, without mathematical numbers - this is EQUATOR, from which the countdown begins to the North Pole and down to the South Pole along the parallels-)
In geography, it is customary to divide the globe (globe, map) into a grid of geographic coordinates. This conditional grid consists of parallels and meridians. All meridins pass through both poles and therefore have the same length.
But the parallels are located perpendicular to the meridians. In the middle of the globe there is a parallel with magnitude 0. This parallel divides the globe into the northern and southern hemispheres. This parallel is called.
The length of the earth's equator is more than 40,000 kilometers.
Any spherical object may have an imaginary line, an imaginary circle dividing this ball, in this case the globe, into the northern and southern hemispheres, we can say that this is zero latitude, as for the earth, since the shape of the Earth is not strictly spherical, and is a geoid, then the equator is located between the flattened poles, and this definition is also good - the equator line is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of our planet and is located at an equal distance from both poles, it helps to navigate the climate zones of the planet. The length of the equator is 40075 km.
The definition can be quite complex and not clear in words, so I’ll just give a picture:
This red stripe is there. To put it simply, this is an imaginary line encircling our planet in the middle.
If you draw a line perpendicular to the earth's axis along the middle of the sphere, this will be the Equator line.
The equator separates the two hemispheres of planet Earth - the Southern and Northern.
The conditional width of the Equator is several kilometers, length is 40,076 kilometers.
this is an imaginary line of intersection with the surface of the earth of a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the planet and passing through its center, it seems like that’s what I remember from school
If you draw a line perpendicular to the earth's axis in the middle of the sphere, this line will be called the Equator.
With its help, the two hemispheres of planet Earth are separated - the Southern and Northern.
The equatorial part of the planet is closest to the sun.
In this place, the widest part of the earth, the sun's rays fall almost vertically, which contributes to the hot tropical climate in this area.
The word equator is also used by students as a holiday, which they celebrate in the middle of their studies, usually in the third year after the winter session, and also symbolizes the line after which the second half of student life begins.
The equator is a conventional line that divides the Earth into two identical hemispheres (Northern and Southern). The length of the equator is approximately forty thousand kilometers. At the equator, the sun rises to its zenith twice a year, this happens when day is equal to night.
The Earth looks like a ball (slightly flattened at the poles), which means that geometric terms are conventionally applicable to it, describing a ball or its cut in the center - a circle. If you imagine this slice midway between north and south, you get a mental circle with a radius of 6378 km. Arc this imaginary geometric figure in which points A and B coincide is called.
In simple terms: we present a certain horizontal slice along the center in order to clearly represent where north ends and south begins, to create a coordinate system that facilitates navigation.
In some countries, this line is made more real by simply drawing it along the ground as a reminder to people and a tourist attraction.
By such a concept as the equator we mean a conventional line that divides our Earth into two identical parts (two hemispheres). The equator runs perpendicular to the Earth's axis. The length of the equator is slightly more than 40 thousand kilometers.
According to Wikipedia:
The equator is a conventional line of section of the earth's surface by a plane passing through the center of the Earth perpendicular to its axis of rotation.
The circumference of the equator is 40,075,695 meters.
The equator divides the globe into two hemispheres - the Northern and Southern, and also serves as the beginning of the geographical latitude.
The equator is an imaginary line that encircles the globe in its widest part - in the middle, at equal distances from the North and South Pole.
The equator encircles the globe, dividing it into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The length of the equator is 40,075.696 km.
The equator is an imaginary line that divides the Earth into two hemispheres - the southern and northern. This is a kind of the middle of the Earth, the central line. The total length of the equator on Earth is approximately forty thousand kilometers. The equator is not only on Earth. Any spherical celestial body has it. To make it clearer, look at the picture below:
