What is an oblate spheroid?
Q: What is an oblate spheroid?
A: An oblate spheroid is a shape that is like a sphere squashed from the top so the circumference around the poles is less than the circumference around the equator.
Q: What is the shape of the Earth and other planets?
A: The shape of the Earth and some other planets is that of an oblate spheroid.
Q: What are ellipsoids?
A: Ellipsoids are shapes that are flattened from the top and bottom.
Q: What is the rotational symmetry of oblate spheroids?
A: Oblate spheroids have rotational symmetry around an axis from pole to pole.
Q: What is the difference between a sphere and the Earth's shape?
A: The difference between a sphere and the Earth's shape is small, only about one part in 300.
Q: What determines the flatness of an oblate spheroid?
A: The speed of the spin determines the flatness of an oblate spheroid.
Q: What is the rotational speed of the Sun and some neutron stars?
A: The Sun rotates at 2 km per second and some neutron stars have speeds of thousands of km/sec.
