Struve Geodetic arc Generate Most Accurate Measurements of Earth

Determining the size of the Earth is one of the most difficult problems for natural philosophers since ancient times. In the 2nd century BC, the Greek astronomer and mathematician named Eratosthenes began developing methods of measurement to calculate the meridian arc and compares it with the angle of the Earth's center.

This method last up to two thousand years even though the accuracy of measurement is very low, ie approximately one percent. Eratosthenes calculates the arc length by measuring the time it takes for people to cross the desert and the angle by measuring the difference between the altitude of the sun between latitudes.

In the 16th century, discovered a new measurement technique called triangulation. This method uses the arcs within the short to measure accurately, while the distance can be determined using a triangular link chain.

Triangulation allows astronomers and cartographers to accurately measure the distance that stretch hundreds and thousands of kilometers. During the 18th century, many bows are built across Europe, but the longest is the or Struve Geodetic Arc.

Arc that stretches along 2,820 kilometers of this has allowed the most accurate measurements of the earth's history. Triggers are Russian-born German scientist, Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, who conducted the in-depth survey during 1816 to 1855.

Struve Geodetic arc consists of 258 triangles connecting 259 triangulation point, snaking from the northern coast of Norway to the southern coast of Ukraine. Currently, hundreds of points are located in 10 different countries namely Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldavia.

Point or the measuring stations marked in various ways, such as stone monument, memorial, rock drilled, until the sign of the cross on the rock surface. Of the overall 259 measurement points, 34 of which were recorded collectively in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, reported by the Amusing Planet.