{"id":4587,"date":"2026-07-29T09:52:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T09:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587"},"modified":"2026-07-29T09:52:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T09:52:53","slug":"nasas-new-3d-model-shows-lumpy-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"lead-in-text-callout\">a new visualization<\/span> of Earth looks nothing like the Blue Marble <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/artemis-iis-breathtaking-view-of-the-far-side-of-the-moon\/\" class=\"text link\">seen from space<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">NASA has released a new geoid model showing the shape of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/do-you-weigh-more-at-the-equator-or-at-the-north-pole\/\" class=\"text link\">Earth\u2019s gravitational field<\/a>. 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\u2019s own gravity and rotation.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-iJvQnD cOWUYC asset-embed\">\n<p><span class=\"BaseText-fEwdHD CaptionCredit-cUgOGk fSrqtv hRFzlA caption__credit\">Science advisor: Scott Luthcke (NASA\/GSFC) Visualizer: Mark SubbaRao (NASA\/GSFC)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paywall\">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 Earth using models and data from satellites, which can detect minute differences in gravity at different locations. The dataset stretches back 15 years and includes a billion observations. NASA also shared an interactive 3D model of the geoid that you can explore <a href=\"https:\/\/svs.gsfc.nasa.gov\/5660#section_credits\" class=\"text link\">here<\/a>, as well as a longer video.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Measuring gravity has value beyond creating jarring visuals that\u2019ll make you question just how round Earth is. NASA and the European Space Agency both have satellites that keep tabs on the planet\u2019s gravitational field.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">These observations have been used to get a better handle on how much ice Antarctica and Greenland are losing as the planet warms. NASA\u2019s satellites\u2014which operate as part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/a-new-nasa-satellite-will-map-earths-rising-seas\/\" class=\"text link\">Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment<\/a> (GRACE)\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/svs.gsfc.nasa.gov\/31166\/\" class=\"text link\">show<\/a> that Antarctica has lost approximately 135 gigatons of ice per year between 2002 and 2025, while Greenland has lost 264 gigatons of ice annually over that same period. Improving those estimates is key to understanding how much <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/sea-level-rise-will-be-catastrophic-and-unequal\/\" class=\"text link\">oceans are rising<\/a> now\u2014and how much more they\u2019ll rise in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">The GRACE observations have also been used to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2011\/06\/floods-droughts-and-a-global-water-warning\/\" class=\"text link\">track groundwater loss<\/a> and drought around the world. The data shows long-term groundwater depletion in the western US and elsewhere. It also provides information on more acute droughts: The extreme dryness that\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/france-records-first-pyrocumulonimbus-cloud-wildfires\/\" class=\"text link\">fueling fires in Spain and France<\/a> this summer is visible in GRACE\u2019s data. An <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/nasagrace.unl.edu\/\" class=\"external-link text link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/nasagrace.unl.edu\/&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/nasagrace.unl.edu\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">analysis<\/a> from the University of Nebraska using gravitational observations shows that soil moisture and shallow groundwater are both sitting in or near record-low territory in parts of the region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">With climate change set to make drought worse in many locations, these types of observations can provide valuable information to water managers in parched regions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\"><em>This story originally appeared on<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/es.wired.com\/articulos\/esa-es-la-verdadera-forma-de-la-tierra-la-nasa-compartio-un-nuevo-modelo-3d-del-geoide-y-la-gente-esta-algo-asustada\" class=\"text link\">WIRED en Espa\u00f1ol<\/a> <em>and has been translated from Spanish.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/nasas-new-3d-model-shows-lumpy-earth\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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\u2019s 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[912,816,329,347,632],"class_list":["post-4587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-earth","tag-earth-science","tag-gravity","tag-nasa","tag-satellites"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NASA\u2019s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We like to think of our home as a nice, smooth sphere. But mapping the Earth\u2019s gravitational field provides a different view of the planet.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NASA\u2019s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We like to think of our home as a nice, smooth sphere. But mapping the Earth\u2019s gravitational field provides a different view of the planet.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-29T09:52:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/geoide.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"SILVYBRAND\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"SILVYBRAND\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"SILVYBRAND\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3\"},\"headline\":\"NASA\u2019s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-29T09:52:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587\"},\"wordCount\":423,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/geoide.png\",\"keywords\":[\"earth\",\"earth science\",\"gravity\",\"nasa\",\"satellites\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Gadgets\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587\",\"name\":\"NASA\u2019s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/geoide.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-29T09:52:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"We like to think of our home as a nice, smooth sphere. But mapping the Earth\u2019s gravitational field provides a different view of the planet.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/geoide.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/geoide.png\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":670},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=4587#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NASA\u2019s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"description\":\"Your daily dose of lifestyle, fashion, travel, beauty, and inspiration \u2014 living boldly, stylishly, and confidently.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg\",\"width\":1115,\"height\":522,\"caption\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3\",\"name\":\"SILVYBRAND\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"SILVYBRAND\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NASA\u2019s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","description":"We like to think of our home as a nice, smooth sphere. But mapping the Earth\u2019s gravitational field provides a different view of the planet.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NASA\u2019s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","og_description":"We like to think of our home as a nice, smooth sphere. But mapping the Earth\u2019s gravitational field provides a different view of the planet.","og_url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587","og_site_name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","article_published_time":"2026-07-29T09:52:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":670,"url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/geoide.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"SILVYBRAND","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"SILVYBRAND","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587"},"author":{"name":"SILVYBRAND","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3"},"headline":"NASA\u2019s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess","datePublished":"2026-07-29T09:52:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587"},"wordCount":423,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/geoide.png","keywords":["earth","earth science","gravity","nasa","satellites"],"articleSection":["Gadgets"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587","name":"NASA\u2019s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/geoide.png","datePublished":"2026-07-29T09:52:53+00:00","description":"We like to think of our home as a nice, smooth sphere. But mapping the Earth\u2019s gravitational field provides a different view of the planet.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/geoide.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/geoide.png","width":1280,"height":670},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=4587#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NASA\u2019s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/","name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","description":"Your daily dose of lifestyle, fashion, travel, beauty, and inspiration \u2014 living boldly, stylishly, and confidently.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization","name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg","width":1115,"height":522,"caption":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3","name":"SILVYBRAND","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"SILVYBRAND"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com"],"url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}