Spheroid

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Spheroid

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An ellipsoid; a figure resembling a sphere. Also called ellipsoid or ellipsoid of revolution from the fact that it can be formed by revolving an ellipse about one of its axes. If the shorter axis is used as the axis of revolution, an oblate spheroid results, and if the longer axis is used, a prolate spheroid results. The earth is approximately an oblate spheroid. </dd>

References

This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use