Geodetic Arch Struve - one of thosemysterious and fantastic inventions, thanks to which you never cease to be amazed at the strength of the human mind. When you understand the genius and scale of this project, it literally captures the spirit. No wonder Doug was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But some buildings have been standing in a queue for years to get there.
Geodetic Arc Struve. And what, in fact, is it?
Hearing our laudatory chants, you probably wondered: “Hmm, geodesic Doug Struve: what is it?”. We explain on the fingers.
Struve Geodesic Arc isline of 265 objects. Each of them is a cube, the edge of which is two meters. Such structures are installed at certain distances from each other, and the total length of the arc is about 2820 kilometers.
Why did they create it?The main goal is to study the planet, its shape and parameters. Implemented Doug on the ideas of the Russian astronomer Vasily Yakovlevich Struve, who was born in Germany. He made a significant contribution to the development of local astronomical science, his works are studied in universities to this day. The main activity of the scientist came in the XIX century: can you imagine what contribution geodesic Doug Struve had for science at that time?
Science concept
Как мы все знаем из уроков астрономии и истории, it was originally thought that the earth was shaped like a ball. And only then did the scientists make theoretical assumptions that we actually live on an ellipse. To confirm this, work was planned on the creation of the geodetic Arc Struve.
If you check all the locations of objects Dugion the map, you will see a chain of small triangles. Objects were located in the direction from north to south, 25 meridian each. 13 strong points - mini-centers, with the help of which the longitude and latitude were determined.
Each object was marked in a special way. There was no single symbolism. Marks were hollowed out in the rocks, pyramids were set up and notches were made of crosses.
Arc Struve and now passes through severalEuropean countries: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova and Lithuania. The works did not lose their relevance for 40 years: all this time, scientists of Russian observatories collected data, analyzed them and made their discoveries.
Is it really important?
And that, in principle, gave us the creationgeodetic arc Struve? It is impossible to overestimate the contribution to the development of astronomical and geographical science. The data collected by the Struve team have been used by scientists from all over the world for over a hundred years. For example, thanks to the information received, Struve was able to get as close as possible to the calculation of the real size of the Earth.
Also, on the basis of the obtained data, many maps were created, the navigation system was improved. She also contributed to the communication of scientists from various countries.
UNESCO World Heritage
Aware of the significance of this project, the Finnsproposed to give the Arc the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since that time, work began on the definition of all points laid down in the original plan of Struve. Unfortunately, many of them have sunk into oblivion. Speaking of Struve's geodetic arc in Russia, the photo can be found only the two remaining objects. They are located on the island of Gogland, located in St. Petersburg.
In total, there are about 34 objects.original arc. Most of them are located in the territories of Norway and Belarus. However, work on the study of these objects are still underway. For example, we still know little about the part of the Arc located in Russia and Ukraine.
Further.Over the course of time, the readings taken from Dugi Struve have been tested using the latest technologies. In particular, the later data were compared with satellite data. To the surprise of all scientists, it turned out that the discrepancy in the data obtained is minimal. Guess how much? Only 2 centimeters. In those days, it was an unheard of breakthrough!
Building the whole world!
In addition, by the standards of the time, thisThe study could be considered the largest in the world. Platforms were installed in several European countries, and rulers of several states contributed to the construction of the structure.
For example, much of the work wasfinanced by Russian emperors: Alexander I and Nicholas I. However, the rest did not stand aside. When working in the territories of Sweden and Norway, not only Russians were actively involved, but also local scientists. And permission to conduct research was issued personally by the King of Sweden and Norway Oscar I.
The work of famous scientists
Для построения Дуги были привлечены самые eminent scientists, who could only be found in the Russian open spaces. For example, the cartographer Iosif Khodzko, who was famous at the time, personally supervised the work, which was intended to connect several parts of the Arc. In particular, he led the way at the junction of the Lithuanian segment with Livonia. And he worked side by side with the creator himself: Vasily Struve.
By the way, the fact that,even though the work was fully initiated by Russian scientists, Russia itself did not get much. Only two objects were located on its territory. And they did not set on the mainland, but on the island. Nevertheless, they are well preserved until our time, and if you wish, you can hope for a tour.
But Moldova was less fortunate.On its territory set as many as 27 measuring points. Nevertheless, at the moment only one is preserved. Although, the territory of Moldova was not studied very carefully, so there is a great chance that over time it will be possible to restore other objects of the famous Dougie.
Modern monuments
Fortunately, Doug Struve received her recognitionboth among the scientific elite and among the general public. What does it mean? For example, the geodetic Arc Struve in Belarus has long been a popular tourist destination.
Ей даже установлен специальный памятник, на which is carefully engraved that it is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. By the way, this particular construction was included in the list only in 2005. The monument is crowned with a large ball, the diameter of which is one and a half meters. On the ball (or rather, the ellipse), which symbolizes our planet, you can see the borders of Belarus with a dotted line.
So.Geodetic Struve Arc in Belarus in the photo most often looks like this: a ball on a rectangular pedestal. Although in reality it is two large rectangular plates buried in the ground. From above they are joined by three bayonets forming a triangle. Honestly, there’s nothing to see there, but tourists are regularly taken to the famous place.
Memory forever
Another confirmation of how strong Belarus is.proud of this object, - coins. In 2006, one year after being included in the UNESCO list, the National Bank issued commemorative coins depicting a ball from Dougie. Silver copies were worth 20 rubles (about 8.5 euros), and copper - 1 ruble (about 0.4 euros). These coins have long found their place in the collections of coin collectors, so it’s not easy to meet them.
Something similar was in Lithuania.In 2015, silver coins dedicated to the Arch of Struve were issued in this way. The cost of one coin was 20 euros. It was possible to purchase them only in the office of the Central Bank of the country, and now they are also better to look for from collectors.
