The Struve Geodetic Arc is one of those mysterious 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 is literally breathtaking. No wonder Doug was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But some buildings have stood in line for years to get there.
Geodetic Arc Struve. And what, in fact, is the matter?
Having heard our laudatory chants, you probably wondered: “Hmm, the geodetic Arc Struve: what is it?”. Explain on the fingers.
Geodetic Struve Arc is a line of 265 objects. Each of them is a cube whose edge is two meters. Similar structures are installed at certain distances from each other, and the total length of the arc is about 2820 kilometers.
Why did you create it? The main goal is to study the planet, its shape and parameters. The Arc is implemented according to 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 at universities to this day. The main activity of the scientist fell on the XIX century: can you imagine what contribution the geodetic Arc Struve had for science at that time?
Scientific concept
As we all know from the lessons of astronomy and history, it was originally believed that the Earth had the shape of a ball. And only then did the scientists make theoretical assumptions that you and I actually live on an ellipse. To confirm this, work was outlined to create a geodetic Struve Arc.
If you mark all the locations of the Arc objects on the map, you will see a chain of small triangles. The objects were located in a direction from north to south, along the 25 meridian. 13 strong points - mini-centers, with the help of which longitude and latitude were determined.
Each object was specially marked. There was no single symbolism. Marks were hollowed out in the rocks, pyramids were set and crosses were made notches.
The Struve Arc still passes through several European countries: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova and Lithuania. The works did not lose their relevance for as long as 40 years: all this time, scientists from Russian observatories collected data, analyzed them and made their discoveries.
Is this really important?
And what, in principle, did the creation of the Geodetic Arc Struve give us? 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 more than a hundred years. For example, thanks to the information received, Struve was able to get as close as possible to calculating the real size of the Earth.
Also, based on the data received, many maps were created, the navigation system was improved. She also facilitated the communication of scientists from many different countries.
UNESCO World Heritage
Realizing the importance of this project, the Finns proposed to give Doug the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From that time, work began on the determination of all points laid down in the original plan of Struve. Unfortunately, many of them have sunk into oblivion. Speaking of the geodetic Arc Struve in Russia, the photo can be found only in the two remaining objects. They are located on the island of Hogland, located in St. Petersburg.
In total, about 34 objects of the original Arc were preserved. Most of them are located in Norway and Belarus. However, work on the study of these objects is still ongoing. For example, we still do not know much about the part of the Arc located on the territory of Russia and Ukraine.
Further. The readings taken from the Struve Arc were checked over time using the latest technology. In particular, later data were compared with data from satellites. 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!
We build the whole world!
In addition, by the standards of that time, this study could be considered the largest in the world. Platforms were installed in several European countries, and the construction of the structure was facilitated by the rulers of several states.
For example, a significant part of the work was funded by Russian emperors: Alexander I and Nicholas I. However, the rest did not stand aside. When performing work in the territories of Sweden and Norway, not only Russians, but also local scientists were actively involved. And permission to conduct research was issued personally by the King of Sweden and Norway, Oscar I.
The work of famous scientists
The most eminent scientists who could only be found in Russian open spaces were involved in the construction of the Arc. For example, the famous cartographer Joseph Khodzko personally supervised the work, which was designed to connect several parts of the Arc. In particular, he paved the way in connecting the Lithuanian segment with Livonia. And he worked side by side with the creator himself: Vasily Struve.
By the way, the fact that, although the work was completely initiated by Russian scientists, Russia itself did not get much remains remarkable. Only two objects were located on its territory. And they put not on the mainland, but on the island. Nevertheless, they are well preserved to our time, and if you wish, you can hope for an excursion.
But Moldova was less fortunate. On its territory, as many as 27 measuring points were installed. However, at the moment, only one has survived. Although, the territory of Moldova was not studied very carefully, there is a great chance that over time it will be possible to restore other objects of the famous Arc.
Modern monuments
Fortunately, Struve Doug gained its recognition both among the scientific elite and among the general public. What does it mean? For example, the geodetic Struve Arc in Belarus has long become a popular tourist attraction.
She even erected a special monument on which is carefully engraved that it is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. By the way, specifically this design 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 dotted borders of Belarus.
So. The Struve geodetic arc in Belarus in the photo most often looks exactly like this: a ball on a rectangular pedestal. Although in reality it is two large rectangular slabs buried in the ground. From above they are connected by three bayonets forming a triangle. Honestly, there’s nothing special to watch, but tourists are regularly led to the famous place.
Memory forever
Another confirmation of how much Belarus is proud of this object is coins. In 2006, a year after being included in the UNESCO list, the National Bank issued commemorative coins depicting a ball from the Arc. Silver copies cost 20 rubles (about 8.5 euros), and copper copies cost 1 ruble (about 0.4 euros). These coins have long found their place in the collections of numismatists, so meeting them is not so simple.
Something similar was in Lithuania. In 2015, silver coins dedicated to the Arc of Struve were issued in this way. The cost of one coin was 20 euros. They could only be purchased at a branch of the Central Bank of the country, and now it is also better to look for them from collectors.