[REVISION HISTORY]
NASA 3D geoid model release and clarifications
Updated 3 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.
What changed
2026-07-29 00:42 UTC → 2026-07-29 20:01 UTC ·
added
removed
On 15 July 2026 NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio released a three‑dimensional model of the Earth’s geoid, the three‑dimensional GOCO06s geoid model, built from more than one billion satellite gravity observations gathered over fifteen years by 19 spacecraft, satellites, including the GRACE, GRACE‑FO twin satellites and ESA’s GOCE mission. To make the subtle gravity‑driven variations visible, the missions. The visual amplifies vertical differences by roughly 10 000 times, producing giving a “potato‑like” image appearance that quickly went viral. The geoid represents the theoretical shape the a global ocean would assume if it were at rest and acted only under gravity and Earth’s rotation, ignoring tides, winds and currents. Mass distribution in the mantle, crust and oceans creates deviations of about +85 m near Iceland and –106 m near southern India. Scientists stress that the illustration is not a photograph of the planet’s surface; Earth remains an oblate spheroid. NASA issued clarifications on 25 July and July, again on 27 July, and a further statement on 29 July 2026, stressing with ESA, reiterating that the exaggerated illustration is a scientific representation of image visualises the geoid—a reference surface of equal gravitational potential—not a photograph of the planet’s physical actual topography. The true geoid departs from a perfect sphere by only a few metres, and the Earth remains essentially an oblate spheroid. The agency highlighted the model’s value model is valuable for sea‑level research, ocean‑current monitoring, glacier‑melt tracking, groundwater storage studies, and studies of underground water storage, while reminding the public that the improving satellite navigation and geodesy. The viral image should not be taken as evidence of a new physical shape of the Earth.
Versions
- 2026-07-29 20:01 UTC NASA 3D geoid model release and clarifications
- 2026-07-29 00:42 UTC NASA 3D geoid model release and clarifications
- 2026-07-27 18:58 UTC NASA Earth geoid map release and clarification
- 2026-07-26 15:31 UTC NASA Earth geoid map release
Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.