# Globe > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Globe > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Globe.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe > Source revision: 1354916004 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Scale model of a celestial body}} {{About|spherical models of celestial bodies}} {{redirect|Globes|the newspaper|Globes (newspaper){{!}}''Globes'' (newspaper)}} thumb|Topography globe featuring physical features of the Earth A '''globe''' is a [spherical](/source/spherical_Earth) [model](/source/Model) of [Earth](/source/Earth), of some other [celestial body](/source/astronomical_object), or of the [celestial sphere](/source/celestial_sphere). Globes serve purposes similar to [map](/source/map)s, but, unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe of Earth is called a '''terrestrial globe'''. A model globe of the celestial sphere is called a ''[celestial globe](/source/celestial_globe)''. A globe shows details of its subject. A terrestrial globe shows [landmass](/source/landmass)es and [water bodies](/source/body_of_water). It might show nations and major cities and the network of [latitude and longitude lines](/source/geographic_coordinate_system). Some have raised [relief](/source/relief) to show mountains and other large landforms. A celestial globe shows notable stars, and may also show positions of other prominent astronomical objects. Typically, it will also divide the celestial sphere into [constellation](/source/constellation)s. The word ''globe'' comes from the [Latin](/source/Latin) word ''globus'', meaning "[sphere](/source/sphere)". Globes have a long history. The first known mention of a globe is from [Strabo](/source/Strabo), describing [the Globe of Crates](/source/Crates_of_Mallus) from about 150 BC. The oldest surviving terrestrial globe is the [Erdapfel](/source/Erdapfel), made by [Martin Behaim](/source/Martin_Behaim) in 1492. The oldest surviving celestial globe sits atop the [Farnese Atlas](/source/Farnese_Atlas), carved in the 2nd century [Roman Empire](/source/Roman_Empire). ==Terrestrial and planetary== thumbnail|Students and teacher looking at a terrestrial globe of the earth. Flat maps are created using a [map projection](/source/map_projection) that inevitably introduces an increasing amount of distortion the larger the area that the map shows. A globe is the only representation of the Earth that does not distort either the shape or the size of large features – land masses, bodies of water, etc. The [Earth's circumference](/source/Earth's_circumference) is quite close to 40 million metres.The Earth’s circumference is 40 million m because the [metre](/source/metre) was originally defined to be one 10-millionth of the distance between the poles and the equator.[Arc length#Arcs of great circles on the Earth](/source/Arc_length) Many globes are made with a circumference of one metre, so they are models of the Earth at a scale of 1:40 million. In imperial units, many globes are made with a [diameter](/source/diameter) of one [foot](/source/Foot_(unit)){{citation needed|date=October 2019}} (about 30 cm), yielding a circumference of 3.14 feet (about 96 cm) and a scale of 1:42 million. Globes are also made in many other sizes. Some globes have surface texture showing [topography](/source/topography) or [bathymetry](/source/bathymetry). In these, elevations and depressions are purposely exaggerated, as they otherwise would be hardly visible. For example, one manufacturer produces a three dimensional raised relief globe with a {{cvt|25|in|cm|order=flip}} diameter (equivalent to a 200 cm circumference, or approximately a scale of 1:20 million) showing the highest mountains as over {{cvt|1|in|cm|order=flip}} tall, which is about 57 times higher than the correct scale of [Mount Everest](/source/Mount_Everest).[https://twitter.com/MapScaping/status/1094493425095856128 MapScaping på Twitter: "3D topographic globe at Stanford's Branner Library."][https://www.1worldglobes.com/1WorldGlobes/classroom_relief_globe.htm The GEO One 25" Extreme Raised Relief Classroom Floor Globe] Most modern globes are also imprinted with [parallels](/source/circle_of_latitude) and [meridian](/source/meridian_(geography))s, so that one can tell the approximate [coordinates](/source/Geographic_coordinate_system) of a specific location. Globes may also show the boundaries of countries and their names. Many terrestrial globes have one celestial feature marked on them: a diagram called the [analemma](/source/analemma), which shows the apparent motion of the Sun in the sky during a year. Globes generally show north at the top, but many globes allow the axis to be swiveled so that southern portions can be viewed conveniently. This capability also permits exploring the Earth from different orientations to help counter the [north-up bias](/source/South-up_map_orientation) caused by conventional map presentation. ==Celestial== thumb|right|Trainer using a celestial sphere to show student a point used to see the apparent path the sun takes through the stars. {{see also|Celestial globe}} Celestial globes depict star positions while excluding the Sun, Moon, and planets due to their variable locations, though they mark the ecliptic—the Sun’s apparent path. A structural challenge arises from the difference between Earth’s perspective (a gnomonic projection from the celestial sphere’s center) and the globe’s external orthographic projection, which reverses constellations. Transparent globes introduce distortions when viewed externally, whereas opaque versions with reversed constellations and text are designed for mirror reflection to restore correct orientation.{{Cite book |last=Borchert |first=Donald M. |title=In Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd ed. |publisher=Macmillan Reference |year=2006 |pages=532–536}} Historically, celestial globes reflected geocentric models, such as Ptolemy’s 2nd-century system using epicycles and equants to explain planetary motion. Medieval astronomers, influenced by his work, constructed globes to model star arrangements under the assumption of a static Earth encircled by rotating celestial spheres. This framework persisted until Copernicus proposed a heliocentric system, redefining humanity’s understanding of cosmic structure.{{Cite web |title=Ptolemy's Model of the Solar System |url=https://farside.ph.utexas.edu/books/Syntaxis/Almagest/node3.html |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=farside.ph.utexas.edu}} ==History== thumb|right|upright|The "Erdapfel" of Martin Beheim is the oldest surviving terrestrial globe, made between 1491 and 1493. left|thumb|199x199px|A replica of the globe of Crates of Mallus [[File:Taqi al-Din globe.jpg|thumb|Globe at the [Constantinople observatory of Taqi ad-Din](/source/Constantinople_observatory_of_Taqi_ad-Din) between 1575-1580 CE.]] The [sphericity of the Earth](/source/sphericity_of_the_Earth) was established by [Greek astronomy](/source/Greek_astronomy) in the 3rd century BC, and the earliest terrestrial globe appeared from that period.{{cite book |last=Dicks |first=D.R. |url=https://archive.org/details/earlygreekastron0000dick |title=Early Greek Astronomy to Aristotle |date=1970 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-0561-7 |location=Ithaca, N.Y. |pages=72–198}}{{citation |last=Cormack |first=Lesley B. |title=Newton's Apple and Other Myths about Science |date=2015 |pages=16–24 |editor-last1=Numbers |editor-first1=Ronald L. |editor-last2=Kampourakis |editor-first2=Kostas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pWouCwAAQBAJ |article=That before Columbus, geographers and other educated people knew the Earth was flat |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=9780674915473 |author-link=Lesley Cormack}} The earliest known example is the one constructed by [Crates of Mallus](/source/Crates_of_Mallus) in [Cilicia](/source/Cilicia) (now [Çukurova](/source/%C3%87ukurova) in modern-day Turkey), in the mid-2nd century BC.[Strabo](/source/Strabo), [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/2E1*.html#p449 ''Geography'', ii.5.10] No terrestrial globes from Antiquity have survived. An example of a surviving [celestial globe](/source/celestial_globe) is part of a Hellenistic sculpture, called the [Farnese Atlas](/source/Farnese_Atlas), surviving in a 2nd-century AD Roman copy in the [Naples Archaeological Museum](/source/Naples_Archaeological_Museum), Italy.Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2003. Early terrestrial globes depicting the entirety of the [Old World](/source/Old_World) were constructed in the [Islamic world](/source/Islamic_Golden_Age).Medieval Islamic Civilization By Josef W. Meri, Jere L Bacharach, pages [https://books.google.com/books?id=H-k9oc9xsuAC&pg=PA138 138–139]{{citation|title=The Third Dimension|first=Richard|last=Covington|journal=Saudi Aramco World, May–June 2007|year=2007|pages=17–21|url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200703/the.third.dimension.htm|access-date=2008-07-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512022044/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200703/the.third.dimension.htm|archive-date=2008-05-12|url-status=dead}} During the Middle Ages in Christian Europe, while there are writings alluding to the idea that the earth was spherical, no known attempts at making a globe took place before the fifteenth century.{{citation|title=The Image of the Spherical Earth|author=David Woodward|journal=[Perspecta](/source/Perspecta_(journal))|volume=25|year=1989|pages=3–15 [9]|publisher=MIT Press|doi=10.2307/1567135 |jstor=1567135}} The earliest extant terrestrial globe was made in 1492 by [Martin Behaim](/source/Martin_Behaim) (1459–1537) with help from the painter Georg Glockendon. Behaim was a German mapmaker, navigator, and merchant. Working in [Nuremberg](/source/Nuremberg), Germany, he called his globe the "Nürnberg Terrestrial Globe." It is now known as the [Erdapfel](/source/Erdapfel). Before constructing the globe, Behaim had traveled extensively. He sojourned in [Lisbon](/source/Lisbon) from 1480, developing commercial interests and mingling with explorers and scientists. He began to construct his globe after his return to Nürnberg in 1490. China made many mapping advancements such as sophisticated land surveys and the invention of the magnetic compass. However, no record of terrestrial globes in China exists until a globe was introduced by the [Persian](/source/Astronomy_in_medieval_Islam) astronomer, [Jamal ad-Din](/source/Jamal_ad-Din_Bukhari), in 1276.{{citation|title=The Image of the Spherical Earth|author=David Woodward|journal=[Perspecta](/source/Perspecta_(journal))|volume=25|year=1989|pages=3–15 [9]|publisher=[MIT Press](/source/MIT_Press)|doi=10.2307/1567135 |jstor=1567135}} Another early globe, the [Hunt–Lenox Globe](/source/Hunt%E2%80%93Lenox_Globe), ca. 1510, is thought to be the source of the phrase ''Hic Sunt Dracones'', or "[Here be dragons](/source/Here_be_dragons)". A facsimile globe showing America was made by [Martin Waldseemüller](/source/Martin_Waldseem%C3%BCller) in 1507. Another "remarkably modern-looking" terrestrial globe of the Earth was constructed by [Taqi al-Din](/source/Taqi_ad-Din_Muhammad_ibn_Ma'ruf) at the [Constantinople observatory of Taqi ad-Din](/source/Constantinople_observatory_of_Taqi_ad-Din) during the 1570s.{{citation|first=Svat|last=Soucek|title=Piri Reis and Ottoman Discovery of the Great Discoveries|journal=[Studia Islamica](/source/Studia_Islamica)|volume=79|issue=79|year=1994|pages=121–142 [123 & 134–6]|doi=10.2307/1595839|jstor=1595839|publisher=Maisonneuve & Larose}} The world's first seamless [celestial globe](/source/celestial_globe) was built by [Mughal scientists](/source/Mughal_Empire) under the patronage of [Jahangir](/source/Jahangir).{{Cite news|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/globe/|title=globe|last=Society|first=National Geographic|date=2011-01-21|newspaper=National Geographic Society|language=en|access-date=2017-01-23|archive-date=2022-05-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520101225/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/globe/|url-status=dead}} [''Globus'' IMP](/source/Voskhod_Spacecraft_%22Globus%22_IMP_navigation_instrument), electro-mechanical devices including five-inch globes have been used in Soviet and Russian spacecraft from 1961 to 2002 as navigation instruments. In 2001, the [TMA](/source/Soyuz_TMA) version of the [Soyuz spacecraft](/source/Soyuz_spacecraft) replaced this instrument with a [digital map](/source/Mercator_projection).{{cite web|last=Tiapchenko|first=Yurii|title=Information Display Systems for Russian Spacecraft: An Overview|url=http://web.mit.edu/slava/space/essays/essay-tiapchenko1.htm|work=Computing in the Soviet Space Program (Translation from Russian: Slava Gerovitch) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251203200706/https://web.mit.edu/slava/space/essays/essay-tiapchenko1.htm |archive-date=2025-12-03}} {{clear|left}} ==Manufacture== {{Multiple image|caption_align=left | header_align=center | footer_align=center | align = right | total_width = 250 | image1 =Wereldnieuws, Nederlandse globe industrie legt haar kaarten op tafel Weeknummer 55-04 - Open Beelden - 78141.ogv | width1 = 384 | height1 = 288 | alt1 = | caption1 = A short, 1955 Dutch film showing the traditional manufacture of globes using paper gores | footer = }} Traditionally, globes were manufactured by gluing a printed paper map onto a sphere, often made from wood.{{Cite web |date=2017-04-30 |title=Globe making |url=https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/globe-making/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Heritage Crafts |language=en-GB}} [[File:Niesten Mars globe segments.jpg|thumb|19th century map of Mars in flat printed [gores](/source/Gore_(segment)), to be wrapped around a globe.]] The most common type has long, thin [gores](/source/Gore_(segment)) (strips) of paper that narrow to a point at the poles,{{cite web|url=https://netpbm.sourceforge.net/doc/globe.jpg|title=Image: globe.jpg, (450 × 100 px)|publisher=netpbm.sourceforge.net|access-date=2015-09-01}} small disks cover over the inevitable irregularities at these points. The more gores there are, the less stretching and crumpling is required to make the paper map fit the sphere. This method of globe making was illustrated in 1802 in an engraving in The English Encyclopedia by George Kearsley. Modern globes are often made from [thermoplastic](/source/thermoplastic). Flat, plastic disks are printed with a distorted map of one of the Earth's [hemispheres](/source/Hemispheres_of_Earth). This is placed in a machine which molds the disk into a hemispherical shape. The hemisphere is united with its opposite counterpart to form a complete globe. Usually a globe is mounted so that its rotation axis is 23.5° (0.41 [rad](/source/radian)) from vertical, which is the angle the Earth's rotation axis deviates from perpendicular to the plane of its orbit. This mounting makes it easy to visualize how [season](/source/season)s change. In the 1800s small pocket globes (less than 3 inches) were status symbols for gentlemen and educational toys for rich children.{{cite news|last1=Bliss|first1=Laura|title=These tiny glass globes were all the rage in London 200 years ago|url=http://qz.com/280392/these-tiny-glass-globes-were-all-the-rage-in-london-200-years-ago/|access-date=2014-10-14|work=[Quartz (publication)](/source/Quartz_(publication))|date=13 October 2014}} {{clear|left}} == Examples== [[File:Eartha, Delorme, Yarmouth ME.jpg|thumb|150px|right|[Eartha](/source/Eartha), the largest rotating globe]] Sorted in decreasing sizes: * The [Unisphere](/source/Unisphere) in [Flushing Meadows](/source/Flushing_Meadows), New York, at the Billie Jean King USTA Tennis Center, at {{cvt|120|ft|m|order=flip}} in diameter, is the world's largest geographical globe. This corresponds to a scale of about 1:350 000. (There are larger spherical structures, such as the [Cinesphere](/source/Cinesphere) in [Toronto, Ontario](/source/Toronto), Canada, but this does not have geographical or astronomical markings.) * [Wyld's Great Globe](/source/Wyld's_Great_Globe), located in London's [Leicester Square](/source/Leicester_Square) from 1851-1862, was a hollow globe 60 feet 4 inches (18.39 m) in diameter designed by mapmaker [James Wyld](/source/James_Wyld). Visitors could climb stairs to view a plaster of Paris model of the Earth's surface, complete with mountains and rivers to scale. * [Eartha](/source/Eartha), the world's largest rotating globe with a diameter of {{cvt|41|ft|m|order=flip}}, located at the [DeLorme](/source/DeLorme) headquarters in [Yarmouth, Maine](/source/Yarmouth%2C_Maine). This corresponds to a scale of about 1:1.1 million. Eartha was constructed in 1998. * The [P-I Globe](/source/Seattle_Post-Intelligencer), a 13.5-ton  30-foot (9.1 m) neon globe with rotating "It's in the P-I" words and an 18-foot eagle, was made in 1948 for the [Seattle Post-Intelligencer](/source/Seattle_Post-Intelligencer)'s headquarters. It was moved to the newspaper's new location in 1986. * The [Great Globe](/source/Great_Globe) at Swanage is a stone sphere that stands at [Durlston Castle](/source/Durlston_Castle) within [Durlston Country Park](/source/Durlston_Country_Park), [England](/source/England). Measuring 10 feet (3.0 m) in diameter and weighing 40 tons, this intricately carved globe showcases the continents, oceans, and specific regions of the world. Crafted from Portland stone, it spans about 3 meters (10 ft) in diameter. ==Gallery == File:Taschenglobus.jpg|A 1716 pocket terrestrial globe with celestial globe case. File:Topview 1765globe.jpg|Top view of a 1765 globe. File:JostBurgi-MechanisedCelestialGlobe1594.jpg|Mechanised 1594 celestial globe. File:Globusuhr 1586.jpg|Detail of a 1586 mechanised celestial globe. File:Globe in Japan 2018 12 2.webm|Spinning a globe written in [Japanese](/source/Japanese_language) File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - Museum - Exhibition Earth 08 - Huge globe with Africa showing, overview.jpg|Exhibit with multiple globes of the earth, each conveying various information. File:Unisphere-cc.jpg|The [Unisphere](/source/Unisphere), the largest geographical globe. File:Globenmuseum Vienna 20091010 121.JPG|Example of an [Armillary sphere](/source/Armillary_sphere). File:Light-up globe.jpg|Plug-in light-up decorative globe File:Globenmuseum Vienna 20091010 404.JPG|Globe of the [Moon](/source/Moon). File:Militaergeographisches Institut Globus Wien DSC 10171w.jpg|Globe used as a decorative architectural element. File:MAN Atlante fronte 1040572.JPG|[Farnese Atlas](/source/Farnese_Atlas), ancient Roman sculpture of [Atlas](/source/Atlas_(mythology)) holding up a celestial globe. File:Now to test the safety razor -Bradley.png|Cartoon of globe [anthropomorphized](/source/anthropomorphized) as human. ==See also== {{portal|border=no|Maps|World}} *[Analemma](/source/Analemma) *[Armillary sphere](/source/Armillary_sphere) *[Cartography](/source/Cartography) *[Dymaxion map](/source/Dymaxion_map) *[Earth in culture](/source/Earth_in_culture) *[Ellen Eliza Fitz](/source/Ellen_Eliza_Fitz) *[Emery Molyneux](/source/Emery_Molyneux) *[Globus Jagellonicus](/source/Globus_Jagellonicus) *[Hunt–Lenox Globe](/source/Hunt%E2%80%93Lenox_Globe) *[Johannes Schöner globe](/source/Johannes_Sch%C3%B6ner_globe) *[Orrery](/source/Orrery) *[Planetarium](/source/Planetarium) *[Science On a Sphere](/source/Science_On_a_Sphere) *[Virtual globe](/source/Virtual_globe) *[Voskhod Spacecraft "Globus" IMP navigation instrument](/source/Voskhod_Spacecraft_%22Globus%22_IMP_navigation_instrument) *[Ibrahim ibn Said al-Sahli](/source/Ibrahim_ibn_Said_al-Sahli) ==References== ==External links== {{Commons}} *[https://netpbm.sourceforge.net/doc/ppmglobe.html ppmglobe – generate strips to glue onto a sphere] *[https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/aug/18/maps-legends-behind-the-scenes-london-globe-maker-workshop-bellerby Behind the scenes at London's globe-making workshop – a photo essay] (August 2017), ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'' {{Authority control}} Category:Types of map Category:Spheres Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Science education materials --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Globe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.