The World Geodetic System is a standard for use in cartography, geodesy, and navigation. It comprises a standard coordinate frame for the Earth, a standard spheroidal reference surface (the datum or reference ellipsoid) for raw altitude data, and a gravitational equipotential surface (the geoid) that defines the nominal sea level.
The latest revision is WGS 84 (dating from 1984 and last revised in 2004), which was valid up to about 2010. Earlier schemes included WGS 72, WGS 66, and WGS 60. WGS 84 is the reference coordinate system used by the Global Positioning System.
Read more about World Geodetic System: Main Parameters, History, The United States Department of Defense World Geodetic System 1966, The United States Department of Defense World Geodetic System 1972, A New World Geodetic System: WGS 84
Famous quotes containing the words world and/or system:
“We try to go back. You know I’ll probably die just a few miles from where I drew my first breath. That would have seemed like a horrible prospect to me, back when I was young and ambitious and gonna set the world on fire. But there’s comfort in knowing you’re gonna go full circle, end up where you started out. I’ve said before that I want to live my last days where folks know when you’re sick and care when you die.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“He could jazz up the map-reading class by having a full-size color photograph of Betty Grable in a bathing suit, with a co- ordinate grid system laid over it. The instructor could point to different parts of her and say, “Give me the co-ordinates.”... The Major could see every unit in the Army using his idea.... Hot dog!”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)