Earth ID: 14121

The Geocenter of the Earth Is Changing (And Why That Matters)

Released on March 29, 2022

Stock Footage: Pond5

Universal Production Music: Kinda Frantic by Steve Rucker [ASCAP]

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Complete transcript available.

At the foundation of virtually all airborne, space-based and ground-based Earth observations is the TRF, or Terrestrial Reference Frame. The TRF relies on an accurate calculation of the geocenter of the Earth (the center mass of the Earth). However, one complication is that the geocenter is constantly changing with respect to the Earth’s surface. By using a network of ground stations equipped with telescopes and lasers that fire pulses at specific satellites, scientists can calculate where the geocenter of the Earth is at any given time to a few millimeters to ensure our Earth observations are accurate.

Source Material

Credits

Katie Jepson (KBR Wyle Services, LLC):
Lead Producer
Narrator
Editor

Stephen Merkowitz (NASA/GSFC):
Lead Scientist

Trent L. Schindler (USRA):
Lead Visualizer

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

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Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Solid Earth >> Geodetics/Gravity
SVS >> GPS
SVS >> Geodesy
NASA Science >> Earth
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Solid Earth >> Geodetics

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0