Scientists explain why the Greenwich meridian is not where it should be

Science, as we learned in college, says that the Greenwich Meridian is an imaginary line that crosses the north and south of planet Earth, which is considered the ground zero for astronomical observations. But a few years ago, scientists discovered that: The Greenwich Meridian is not exactly where it should be; it is actually located about 100 meters from its original location.

Meridian is a line that cuts the planet from north to south; The Greenwich Meridian was chosen as the Earth’s prime meridian in 1884. At that time, spokespersons from 25 countries met to determine the meridian, and Greenwich won by 22 votes; Brazil and France abstained from voting, with only one country voting against the meridian. agreement.

The Greenwich meridian or ‘first meridian’ is visited annually by thousands of tourists from all over the world. The famous imaginary line separating the eastern and western hemispheres of the world can be visited at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. However, the true meridian is about 100 meters from the place described as ‘original’..

“We always tell this story by saying that these things will of course change as we improve our measurements and have better technology because we want to have the best data possible. I think it would be great to have a marker in the park to update Greenwich’s 21st century meridian line history. Right now The closest thing to the mark is the trash can,” said astronomer Marek Kukula of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

Why is the meridian not where it should be?

In a study published in the Journal of Geodesy, a team of scientists noted: the true Greenwich Meridian is approximately 102 meters east of the originally chosen location. The reason for this is much simpler than it seems: scientists explain it Current GPS devices offer more advanced technology and more accurate calculations – more specifically, the prime meridian is located next to a dumpster in Greenwich Park.

In 1984, scientists used data from the telescope to confirm the current position of the Greenwich Meridian, but the study shows that the telescope was not fully fine-tuned. After several updates to GPS systems since 1984, researchers realized that the right area was a little further away than they thought.

“With the advancement of technology, it was inevitable that the prime meridian would change. Perhaps a new marker should be placed at Greenwich Park for the new prime meridian,” said Ken Seidelmann, a University of Virginia astronomer and co-author of the study.

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