Geodesy is the science that study the dimensions, form it's the Earth's gravity field, allowing you to analyze, measure and accurately represent the geographic space of the planet.
Geodesy is part of a set of disciplines called “geodesic sciences”, which include cartography, topography, photogrammetry, remote sensing and positional astronomy.
All of these study areas, as well as geodesy, help to obtain more accurate information about the complex features of the Earth's shape.
The studies and activities by geodesy were of great help in the development of increments in the catographic model, such as the creation and implementation of the Global Positioning System (GPS).
Learn more about the meaning of GPS.
Since Ancient Greece, with Aristotle, Pythagoras of Samos, Eratosthenes, among others, the concepts and basic studies of geodesy were already being developed, such as the idea of the Earth being spherical.
In more modern times, Isaac Newton and Carl Gauss were other important names within this science, making very significant contributions to the structure and shape of the planet.
In Brazil, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) is the body responsible for referencing the national territory, through the so-called Brazilian Geodesic System (SGB).
Geodesy, in addition to being part of geoscience, is also used in engineering, mathematics and physics.
Geodesy and cartography
Cartography is part of the set of geodesic sciences, being considered one of the oldest, responsible for analyzing and measuring the dimensions of the Earth.
The cartographer is responsible for reproducing the characteristics and complexities of a geographic network spherical (the dimensions, longitudes, latitudes and other terrestrial measurements) for a flat surface: a chart or map.
In short, cartography is the science that studies and produces maps and other geographic location references.
Learn more about the meaning of Latitude and longitude.
Geodesy and topography
Geodesy and topography are often confused with each other, as they use the same equipment and methods to map the earth's surface.
However, the main difference is that topography is limited to studying small portions of a surface (up to 30 km) and geodesy maps large portions of land.
See also: the meaning of Geodesic.
