Earth radius

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Earth radius is the distance from a selected center of Earth to a point on its surface, which is often chosen to be sea level, or more commonly, the surface of an idealized ellipsoid representing the shape of Earth. Because Earth is not a perfect sphere, the determination of Earth’s radius can have several values, depending on how it is measured; from its equatorial radius of about 6,378 kilometres (3,963 miles) to its polar radius of about 6,357 kilometres (3,950 miles).
When only one radius is stated, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) prefers that it be Earth’s equatorial radius.The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) gives three global average radii, the arithmetic mean of the radii of the ellipsoid (R1), the radius of a sphere with the same surface area as the ellipsoid or authalic radius (R2), and the radius of a sphere with the same volume as the ellipsoid (R3). All three IUGG average radii are about 6,371 kilometres (3,959 mi). A fourth global average radius not mentioned by the IUGG is the rectifying radius, the radius of a sphere with a circumference equal to the perimeter of the polar cross section of the ellipsoid, about 6,367 kilometres (3,956 mi). The radius of curvature at any point on the surface of the ellipsoid depends on its coordinates and its azimuth, north-south (meridional), east-west (prime vertical), or somewhere in between.

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