Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2026 March 24
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                           A Gravity Map of Earth
              Video Credit: [2]NASA, [3]GSFC, [4]GRACE, [5]SVS

   Explanation: Is gravity the same over the surface of the Earth? No --
   in some places you will feel slightly heavier than others. The
   [6]featured Earth map video shows in colors and exaggerated highs and
   lows where the [7]gravitational field of [8]Earth is relatively strong
   and weak. A low spot, where you would feel slightly lighter, can be
   seen just off the coast of [9]India, in blue, while a relative high
   occurs in the mountains of [10]Chile in [11]South America. The cause of
   these irregularities [12]does not always follow present surface
   features. Scientists hypothesize that other important factors lie in
   deep underground structures in [13]Earth's mantle and may be related to
   the [14]Earth's appearance in the [15]distant past. The [16]featured
   map was composed from data taken by [17]NASA's twin [18]GRACE
   satellites that orbited the Earth from 2002 to 2017. [19]GRACE mapped
   Earth's gravity by carefully tracking tiny changes in the distance
   between the two satellites.

                        Tomorrow's picture: Space Eye
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    Authors & editors: [31]Robert Nemiroff ([32]MTU) & [33]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([34]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [35]Specific rights apply.
            [36]NASA Web Privacy, [37]Accessibility, [38]Notices;
                A service of: [39]ASD at [40]NASA / [41]GSFC,
                         [42]NASA Science Activation
                           & [43]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://www.nasa.gov/
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/
   4. https://grace.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/grace/
   5. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/
   6. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11234/
   7. https://grace.jpl.nasa.gov/resources/6/grace-global-gravity-animation/
   8. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/facts/
   9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_America
  12. https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/r72p2/just_a_dog_tilting_its_head/#lightbox
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_mantle
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070922.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240701.html
  16. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11234/
  17. https://www.nasa.gov/
  18. https://grace.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/grace/
  19. https://grace.jpl.nasa.gov/applications/overview/
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260323.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  26. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  29. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260324
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260325.html
  31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  33. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  34. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  36. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  37. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  39. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  42. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  43. http://www.mtu.edu/