NASA’s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess

a new visualization of Earth looks nothing like the Blue Marble seen from space. NASA has released a new geoid model showing the shape of Earth’s gravitational field. The slight, irregular bulges and depressions are caused by variations in the distribution of mass within the planet. It can also be imagined as the surface a global ocean would take if it were determined solely by Earth’s own gravity and rotation. The visualization is an exaggerated geoid, with heights multiplied by a factor of 10,000 in order to show the variations in the gravitational field. NASA created this lumpy version of E...