Geotagged at home (51.427051,-0.333344)

Gravity Sucks But It Sucks Variably (Also Available As A Map)

As children we all learn the hard way that gravity sucks though a succession of scraped and bruised knees and elbows. We probably also learned in physics lessons that there's the gravitational constant, denoted by a capital G.

0f36df929ac9d711a8ba8c5658c3bfee

But what I certainly didn't learn was that while gravity sucks, it doesn't suck consistently. In fact, gravity sucks variably, as this 2010 map from ESA's Goce (Gravity field and Ocean Circulation Explorer) satellite shows.

goce_gravity_field_786map

So it should come as no surprise that not only does gravity suck variably on Earth, it also sucks variably on the Moon.

PosterFrame2_1024x576

This map comes from two NASA probes, Ebb and Flow, which formed part of the agency's GRAIL (Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory) project. Ebb and Flow spent 351 days orbiting in formation around the Moon before crashing to the surface at the end of 2012.

So gravity still sucks; it just sucks variably.

Image Credits: Wikipedia, ESA and NASA.

Gary
Gary Gale

I'm Gary ... a Husband, Father, CTO at Kamma, geotechnologist, map geek, coffee addict, Sci-fi fan, UNIX and Mac user