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Name: Jason P Brechin
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Question:
I would like to know if the Earth is really not round, but elliptical as some say.


Replies:
The Earth is not quite spherical, due to what is know as "rotational flattening." It is not egg-shaped, either, it is shaped more like a pumpkin. The radius of the Earth at the equator is 6,378 km; at the poles it is 6,356 km.

Jupiter, which rotates once every 10 hours, is even much squashed than the Earth. Jupiter's equatorial radius is 70,850 km; it is polar radius is 66,550 km.

Richard A Gerber

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