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| Chimborazo Volcano Pixabay |
Source: latercera.com
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The Ecuadorian massif is the furthest peak from the center of the Earth. According to the information, this change would be due to the difference in the diameter of the planet.
April 7, 2016.-
A difference of 1,811 meters stole one of its world records to Mount Everest, although the mountain located between the Nepal-China border continues to be the highest on Earth taken from sea level. The last measurement made by a group of French and Ecuadorian expeditionaries who climbed to the top of the Chimborazo volcano showed that this is the furthest point from the planet's core.
At 6,268 meters above sea level, the dormant volcano in the Ecuadorian part of the Andes Mountains is the highest peak in the country. A new measurement, made with a GPS system which was left for two hours on the highest part of the mountain, determined that the Chimborazo is 6,384.416 kilometers from the center of the Earth, while Mount Everest is at 6,382.605 kilometers.
This difference of almost 2 kilometers is due to the shape of the Earth -flattened on the poles- which leaves the countries on the equator further from the center of the planet.
At 6,268 meters above sea level, the dormant volcano in the Ecuadorian part of the Andes Mountains is the highest peak in the country. A new measurement, made with a GPS system which was left for two hours on the highest part of the mountain, determined that the Chimborazo is 6,384.416 kilometers from the center of the Earth, while Mount Everest is at 6,382.605 kilometers.
This difference of almost 2 kilometers is due to the shape of the Earth -flattened on the poles- which leaves the countries on the equator further from the center of the planet.
"Because of the experience that we were left, we know that the areas near the equator are further from the center of the Earth, but a value was missing, measuring the greatest distance from the center," explained Jean Mathieu Nocquet, from the French Institute for Development Research (IRD) to the newspaper El País.
This is why a team made up of French and Ecuadorian experts climbed to the top of the Chimborazo in February of this year and installed a global positioning system (GPS) at the summit which, through a 60-centimeter antenna, connects with 15 satellites from different countries for a more detailed location.
"In order to get accurate data, we left the GPS for two hours and then we processed the information that was stored during that period of time," explained Mathiew Perrault, from the Geophysical Institute (IG) to El País.
Furthermore, this new measurement determined that the Ecuadorian massif is 40 meters closer to the sun than the Nevado Huascaran (in Peru), which ranks second in the calculation from the center of the Earth.
Although the Everest continues to maintain its leadership when measuring heights from the planet's surface, the Earth's shape gives almost 2 kilometers of advantage to the countries closer to equator, which left Chimborazo with the new record.
Furthermore, this new measurement determined that the Ecuadorian massif is 40 meters closer to the sun than the Nevado Huascaran (in Peru), which ranks second in the calculation from the center of the Earth.
Although the Everest continues to maintain its leadership when measuring heights from the planet's surface, the Earth's shape gives almost 2 kilometers of advantage to the countries closer to equator, which left Chimborazo with the new record.
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