Length of the equator

For most of us, the word "equator" is associated with a line dividing our globe into two halves. In this regard, it is not surprising that people ask themselves: what is the equator? Equator is a conditional line that exactly intersects the surface of our Earth with a plane that is considered perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the planet and passes right through its center. From Latin, the word "aequator" is translated as "equalizer". This line is a conditional beginning for the readout of the geographical latitude, equal to 0 at the equator.

The length of the equator is 40,075,667 km, the remaining lines (parallels) are always less than its length. Throughout its entire line, the day is constantly equal to night. It is the equator dividing our planet into two hemispheres, the Southern and the Northern. Twice a year, in the days of the autumn and spring equinox, the sun above it is at its zenith. The spring equinox falls on March 20-21, and the autumnal one on September 23. These days the sun is just above your head, and the objects do not cast shadows.

The length of the equator was calculated by scientists according to the formula 2πR, in spite of the fact that the Earth has not a spherical shape, but is elongated in the form of an ellipse (a ball flattened at the poles). Nevertheless, the radius of our planet is conditionally adopted as the radius of the sphere. The length of the earth along the equator is the longest line encircling the Earth. An interesting fact is that it crosses 14 states.

Moving from the Greenwich meridian towards the east, the equator crosses such states as Sao Tome and Principe in the Atlantic Ocean, then Gabon, Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia in Africa. Moving along the Indian Ocean, it passes through the Maldives and Indonesia. In the Pacific, the equator crosses Kiribati and Baker Islands, belonging to the United States, then - Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil, which are on the South American continent. These countries are the hottest on the planet.

The length of the equator was first calculated by the ancient Greek scientist Eratosthenes, who was not only a great mathematician, geographer, poet, but also an astronomer. Measuring the time during which the sun's rays reached the bottom of the well, the scientist was able to calculate the radius of the globe and find out what the length of the equator is. These calculations are very approximate, but they gave much to subsequent generations of scientists for a more accurate calculation of the length of this imaginary line. Eratosthenes of Cyrene was born in 276 BC. And died in 194 BC.

It was one of the greatest scientists of the ancient world. He was born in the Greek city of Cyrene and, at the invitation of King Ptolemy III of Evergert, was in charge of the Alexandria Library. This great scientist died from hunger, in terrible poverty, but went down in history as an astute researcher with an unconventional approach to science. The length of the equator according to Eratosthenes was 252 thousand stadia, which is 39,690 km. The creator of mathematical and physical geography, Eratosthenes made great discoveries in many areas. It is very difficult for a modern man to understand how a scientist, without any instruments, calculated the length of the equator, with an error of only 386 kilometers.

Many mathematicians and astronomers later also tried to calculate the length of the equator. The Dutchman Snellius at the beginning of the XVII century suggested calculating this value without taking into account the obstacles encountered. In the 18th century, scientists from France were seriously engaged in such calculations. The Russians, too, did not stand aside and contributed to the science, which allowed us to determine the length of the earth along the equator. The director of the Pulkovo Observatory, V. Ya. Struve, carried out these measurements in degrees from 1822 to 1852, and in 1941 the Soviet scientist-geodesist F.N. Krasovsky was able to calculate the length of the earth ellipse, from which modern scientists from all over the world are repelled, since it is recognized as the standard.