X-Nico

unusual facts about circumference of the Earth



Ali ibn Isa al-Asturlabi

During the reign of al-Ma'mun, and together with Khālid ibn ʿAbd al‐Malik al‐Marwarrūdhī, he participated in an expedition to the Plain of Sinjar to measure the length of a degree, or the circumference of the Earth.


see also

Gabriel Mouton

Based on the measurements of the size of the Earth conducted by Riccioli of Bologna (at 321,815 Bologna feet to the degree), Mouton proposed a decimal system of measurement based on the circumference of the Earth, explaining the advantages of a system based on nature.

Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory

Following a proposition of Liu Zhuo from 604 AD, 10 of these were aligned along the meridian 114° east of Greenwich from Central Asia down to Vietnam in order to determine the circumference of the Earth and derivations from a perfect sphere.