Goce

(Newser) - After four years of mapping our planet's gravity, the European Space Agency's GOCE satellite has plunged back to Earth. The GOCE—Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer—was last heard from 75 miles over Antarctica, Reuters reports. It is believed to have burned up on re-entry, with...

(Newser) - Gravity pulls harder on the French than it does on Americans—and a new image proves it. The graphic from earth’s lowest-flying scientific satellite shows the uneven distribution of gravity across the world, resulting in an exaggerated “potato”-shaped image, the BBC reports. The new data could have...

(Newser) - A mesmerizingly multi-hued map of the Earth's gravity has been created with the help of detailed measurements taken by Europe's Goce satellite. The data has been transformed into a "geoid," or map, highlighting the differences in the planet's pull, from its mountain ranges to ocean trenches, to create...