Eartha

{{Short description|World's largest rotating and revolving globe (completed 1998)}} {{For|the singers|Eartha (musician)|Eartha Kitt}}

thumb|Full view of Eartha '''Eartha''' is the world's largest rotating and revolving globe, located within the former headquarters of the DeLorme mapping corporation in Yarmouth, Maine.<ref name="amazing">{{cite book | title=Amazing and Unusual America | publisher=Publications International, Ltd. | author=Bahr, Jeff | year=2009 | location=Chicago, Illinois, USA | pages=8 | isbn=978-1-4127-1683-3}}</ref> Garmin purchased the company and the building in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-03-03|title=Garmin® completes acquisition of DeLorme®|url=https://www.garmin.com/en-US/newsroom/press-release/corporate/2016-garmin-completes-acquisition-of-delorme/|access-date=2021-11-15|website=Garmin Newsroom|language=en-US}}</ref> The globe weighs approximately 5,600 pounds (2,500 kg), and has a diameter of over 41 feet (12.5 m).

==Construction== The globe was built with a scale of 1:1,000,000, on which one inch represents sixteen miles (1mm = 1km).<ref name="AO">{{cite web |title=Eartha |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/eartha-delorme-headquarters |website=Atlas Obscura }}</ref><ref name="Sharp1998">{{cite news |first1=David |last1=Sharp |agency=Associated Press |date=24 July 1998 |title=EARTH STARTS TURNING IN YARMOUTH TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING, DELORME'S GIANT GLOBE - THE WORLD'S LARGEST - IS FINISHED |work=Portland Press Herald |id={{ProQuest|276844280}} }}</ref> As with most globes, it is mounted at a 23.5 degree angle, the same axial tilt as the Earth itself; thus the equator is diagonal to the floor. It uses a cantilever mount with two motors, and simulates one day's revolution and rotation every 18 minutes, though it is possible for the motors to fully rotate the globe in as little as one minute.{{fact|date=July 2020}} thumb|The truss structure of the globe made visible during a panel-replacement project in 2023 The globe was completed in 1998,<ref name="AO" /> after two years of construction and planning,<ref name="Sharp1998" /> and it uses a composite database built from satellite imagery, shaded relief, colored bathymetry, and information about road networks and urban areas. The database used to generate the surface images was approximately 140 gigabytes.{{fact|date=July 2020}}

Former CEO of DeLorme Maps, David DeLorme, designed the globe, while Lewiston-based surveyor and civil engineer, Vincent J.P. Leblanc, was involved in the building project.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Skelton |first1=Kathryn |date=18 June 2012 |title=People you know: Vincent J. P. leblanc -- late surveyor, engineer had his life mapped out |work=McClatchy - Tribune Business News |id={{ProQuest|1020821381}} }}</ref> Map technician Jeff Clark was responsible for the 792 plastic sections that cover the rotating globe.<ref name="Sharp1998" />

Eartha is contained in an atrium with several glass walls that allow it to be seen from outside of the building; it is readily visible from U.S. Route 1. At night, the globe is illuminated.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Team|first=Wordlesstech|date=2013-02-16|title=Eartha world’s Largest Rotating Globe|url=https://wordlesstech.com/eartha-worlds-largest-rotating-globe/|access-date=2020-10-12|website=wordlessTech|language=en-US}}</ref>

Eartha is constructed around a truss structure which is called ''Omni-Span'', and consists of over 6000 pieces of aluminum tubing. The map panels each cover 8 degrees of latitude and 10 degrees of longitude, and are attached to the trusses with a custom-designed system of hidden bolts.

==Public viewing== thumb|Eartha from outside the DeLorme building The atrium containing Eartha is open to the public during business hours. There was an adjacent coffee shop which, in 2016, replaced a gift shop that carried various DeLorme and geography-related products. A cafeteria returned at the time of Garmin's acquisition.

The mounting equipment is in a large pit below floor level and is visible to visitors, but the stairway down is chained off to prevent public access. There are two balconies that allow visitors to more easily view the higher parts of the globe.

Eartha was originally designed to be {{convert|42|ft|m|1}} in diameter. In 1999, surveyors hired by the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' measured the globe at {{convert|41|ft|1.5|in|m|2}}.<ref>{{cite news |title=Travel Notes Big Eartha |journal=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date=23 May 1999 |page=4 |id={{ProQuest|260954725}} }}</ref> The previous record holder is the Globe of Peace located in Apecchio, Pesaro, Italy.<ref name="amazing" />

==See also== * Babson Globe

==References== {{Portal|Geography|Maine}} {{reflist}}

Category:Globes