Globe

A globe is a round model.

It can show our Earth. It shows land and water.

Some globes show the stars. These are called celestial globes. They show where stars sit in the sky.

Some globes are very big. One giant globe is in Maine. It is called Eartha.

Globes help us see the world. They are fun to study!

A globe is a round model of a sphere.

Unlike flat maps, globes do not change the shape of things. They show land and water in the right way.

Some globes show our Earth. These are called terrestrial globes. They show nations, cities, and even mountains. Some have bumps to show high land. Other globes show the stars. These are called celestial globes.

They show where stars and constellations sit in the sky.

People have made globes for a long time. The oldest surviving Earth globe is the Erdapfel. Martin Behaim made it in 1492. He was a mapmaker from Germany.

There are also very big globes. A giant globe named Eartha sits in Maine. It is a huge rotating model. Most globes tilt on an axis. This tilt helps us see how the seasons change. This is because the Earth tilts as it moves.

A globe is a round model of a sphere.

It can represent the Earth or even the stars in the sky. While flat maps must stretch or change shapes to fit on paper, globes do not do this. They show the true shape and size of land and water. A model of the Earth is called a terrestrial globe.

These show nations, cities, and lines of latitude and longitude. Some even have raised bumps to show mountains.

Making a globe is a careful task. In the past, makers glued paper strips called gores onto a wooden ball. These strips are thin and pointy at the ends to fit the poles. Today, many globes are made from plastic. Machines mold flat plastic disks into round shapes. Most globes sit on an axis that tilts at 23.5 degrees. This tilt is very important for science. It helps us see how the Earth's seasons change as it moves.

People have been making globes for a very long time. The first mention of a globe comes from a writer named Strabo. He wrote about a globe made by Crates of Mallus around 150 BC. The oldest terrestrial globe still in existence is the Erdapfel. Martin Behaim made it in 1492 in Nuremberg, Germany.

He was a navigator and a merchant who traveled to Lisbon. Another very old celestial globe is part of a Roman sculpture called the Farnese Atlas.

There are many different kinds of globes to discover. Celestial globes show stars and constellations in the sky.

They often show the path the Sun takes, which is called the ecliptic. Some globes are even built to be very large. The largest rotating globe is named Eartha. It is located in Yarmouth, Maine.

It is a huge model that shows the world at a scale of 1:1.1 million. Other large globes include a stone sphere in England and a neon globe in Seattle.

Globes help us understand our place in the universe. They can show us how the Sun moves through the sky each year. This is shown on many Earth globes using a diagram called an analemma.

Some globes even show the highest mountains as extra tall. This makes them easier to see with our eyes. Even in space, small globes have been used. Soviet and Russian spacecraft used tiny globes to help them find their way.

A globe is a spherical model of a celestial body or the celestial sphere.

While flat maps must use projections that distort shapes or sizes, globes avoid this issue. They represent the surface accurately by simply scaling it down. A model of the Earth is known as a terrestrial globe. These models show landmasses, water bodies, nations, and major cities.

They often include a network of latitude and longitude lines to provide coordinates. Some terrestrial globes feature raised relief to represent mountains and other large landforms.

Celestial globes represent a different subject: the stars and the celestial sphere. These models show notable stars and the positions of prominent astronomical objects. They also divide the sky into different constellations.

Celestial globes typically exclude the Sun, Moon, and planets because their locations change constantly. Instead, they mark the ecliptic, which is the apparent path of the Sun. Creating these models involves complex geometry. Because of how we view the sky, some celestial globes use reversed constellations so they appear correct when viewed in a mirror.

Historically, celestial globes were used to reflect geocentric models of the universe. In the 2nd century, Ptolemy used systems like epicycles and equants to explain how planets moved. Medieval astronomers built globes based on these ideas, assuming the Earth was static. They believed rotating celestial spheres encircled the Earth. This view lasted until Copernicus proposed a heliocentric system. This new model changed our understanding of the cosmic structure.

The earliest known mention of a globe comes from the writer Strabo. He described the Globe of Crates from approximately 150 BC.

Terrestrial globe making has a long and diverse history across many cultures. The oldest surviving terrestrial globe is the Erdapfel, created by Martin Behaim in 1492.

Behaim was a German merchant and navigator who worked in Nuremberg. In the Islamic world, terrestrial globes were constructed that depicted the Old World. In 1276, the Persian astronomer Jamal ad-Din introduced a globe to China. Other notable historical examples include the Hunt–Lenox Globe from around 1510. This copper cast is thought to be related to an ostrich egg globe from 1504.

Manufacturing methods for globes have changed significantly over the centuries. Traditionally, makers glued paper gores onto a sphere, often made of wood. Gores are long, thin strips of paper that narrow at the poles. Using more gores helps the paper fit the sphere without too much stretching.

Modern globes are frequently made from thermoplastic. Machines mold flat plastic disks into hemispherical shapes. These two halves are then joined to complete the sphere. Most globes are mounted on an axis tilted at 23.5 degrees. This specific angle helps people visualize how the Earth's seasons change.

Globes come in many different scales and sizes to serve different purposes. Many common globes have a circumference of one metre, creating a 1:40 million scale. Others use a one-foot diameter, resulting in a 1:42 million scale. Some specialized globes use exaggerated topography to make mountains visible. One manufacturer produces a relief globe where Mount Everest appears 57 times higher than its actual scale. Large-scale globes also exist for public display. The Unisphere in New York is the world's largest geographical globe, with a scale of 1:350,000.

Specific famous globes highlight the variety of this medium. Eartha, located in Yarmouth, Maine, is the world's largest rotating globe.

It has a diameter of 12 meters and a scale of 1:1.1 million. In London, Wyld's Great Globe was a massive hollow structure from the mid-1800s. The P-I Globe in Seattle was a 30-foot neon model made in 1948. There is even a 40-ton stone globe at Durlston Castle in England. Even in space exploration, globes have played a role. Soviet and Russian spacecraft used small electro-mechanical globes for navigation until 2002.