A globe is a three-dimensional scale model of Earth (terrestrial globe) or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon. It may also refer to a spherical representation of the celestial sphere, showing the apparent positions of the stars and constellations in the sky (celestial globe). The word "globe" comes from the Latin word ''globus'', meaning round mass or sphere.

Terrestrial and planetary

A globe is the only representation of the earth that does not distort either the shape or the size of large features; flat maps are created using a map projection that inevitably introduces an increasing amount of distortion the larger the area that the map shows. A typical scale for a terrestrial globe is roughly 1:40 million.

Sometimes a globe has surface texture showing topography; in these, elevations are exaggerated, otherwise they would be hardly visible. Most modern globes are also imprinted with parallels and meridians so that one can tell the approximate coordinates of a specific place. Globes provide the best view of Earth today.

Celestial

Celestial globes show the apparent positions of the stars in the sky. They omit the Sun, Moon and planets because the positions of these bodies vary relative to those of the stars, but the ecliptic, along which the Sun moves, is indicated.

A potential issue arises regarding the "handedness" of celestial globes. If the globe is constructed so that the stars are in the positions they actually occupy on the imaginary celestial sphere, then the star field will appear back-to-front on the surface of the globe (all the constellations will appear as their mirror images). This is because the view from Earth, positioned at the centre of the celestial sphere, is of the ''inside'' of the celestial sphere, whereas the celestial globe is viewed from the ''outside''. For this reason, celestial globes may be produced in mirror image, so that at least the constellations appear the "right way round". Some modern celestial globes address this problem by making the surface of the globe transparent. The stars can then be placed in their proper positions and viewed ''through'' the globe, so that the view is of the inside of the celestial sphere, as it is from Earth.

History

The sphericity of the Earth was established by Hellenistic astronomy in the 3rd century BC, and the earliest terrestrial globe appeared from that period. The earliest known example is the one constructed by Crates of Mallus in Cilicia (now Çukurova in modern-day Turkey), in the mid-2nd century BC.

No terrestrial globes from Antiquity or the Middle Ages have survived. An example of a surviving celestial globe is part of a Hellenistic sculpture, called the Farnese Atlas, surviving in a 2nd century AD Roman copy in the Naples Museum, Italy.

Early terrestrial globes depicting the entirety of the Old World were constructed in the Islamic Golden Age. One such example was constructed in the 9th century by Muslim geographers and cartographers working under the Abbasid caliph, Al-Ma'mun. Another example was the terrestrial globe introduced to Beijing by the Persian astronomer, Jamal ad-Din, in 1267.

The oldest surviving terrestrial globe is credited to Martin Behaim in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1492. A facsimile globe showing America was made by Martin Waldseemueller in 1507. Another early globe, the Hunt-Lenox Globe, ca. 1507, is thought to be the source of the phrase "Here be dragons". Another "remarkably modern-looking" terrestrial globe of the Earth was constructed by Taqi al-Din at the Istanbul observatory of Taqi al-Din during the 1570s.

An unusually high proportion of vintage 20th century world globes feature the Australian town of Birdum, which no longer exists but once held an important position at the end of the Northern Australian Railway.

Manufacture

Mass-produced globes are typically covered by a printed paper map. The most common type has long, thin gores (strips) of paper that narrow to a point at the North Pole and the South Pole. Then a small disk is used to paper over the inevitable irregularities at the poles. The more gores there are, the less stretching and crumpling is required to make the paper map fit the sphere. From a geometric point of view, all points on a sphere are equivalent – one could select any arbitrary point on the Earth, and create a paper map that covers the Earth with strips that come together at that point and the antipodal point.

A globe is usually mounted at a 23.5° angle on bearings. In addition to making it easy to use this mounting also represents the angle of the planet in relation to its sun and the spin of the planet. This makes it easy to visualize how days and seasons change.

Notable examples

The Unisphere in Queens, New York, at 120 feet (36.6 m) in diameter, is the world's largest global structure.

Eartha, currently the world's largest rotating globe ( in diameter), at the Delorme headquarters in Yarmouth, Maine The Mapparium, three-story, stained glass globe at the Mary Baker Eddy Library in Boston, which visitors walk through via a glass bridge. The Babson globe in Wellesley, Massachusetts, a globe which originally rotated on its axis and on its base to simulate day and night and the seasons

The giant globe in the lobby of The News Building in New York City.

The Hitler Globe, also known as the Führer globe, was formally named the Columbus Globe for State and Industry Leaders. Two editions existed during Hitler's lifetime, created during the mid-1930s on his orders. (The second edition changed the name of Abyssinia to Italian East Africa). These globes were "enormous" and very costly. According to the New York Times, "the real Columbus globe was nearly the size of a Volkswagen and, at the time, more expensive." Several still exist, including three in Berlin: one at a geographical institute, one at the Märkisches Museum, and another at the Deutsches Historisches Museum. The latter has a Soviet bullet hole through Germany. One of the two in public collections in Munich has an American bullet hole through Germany. There are several in private hands inside and out of Germany. A much smaller version of Hitler's globe was mocked by Charlie Chaplin in ''The Great Dictator'', a film released in 1940.

Gallery

See also

Armillary sphere

Cartography

Dymaxion map

Emery Molyneux

Google Earth

NASA World Wind

Johannes Schöner globe

Virtual globe

References

External links

ppmglobe - generate strips to glue onto a sphere

3D VRML globe

3D Java Globe with coastlines, parallels, meridians, etc.

Category:Map types

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name	Ben Sollee
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Benjamin Croft Sollee
origin	Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
instrument	Cello
genre	BluegrassFolkJazz
occupation	Musician, singer, songwriter
label	Sub Pop
associated acts	Sparrow Quartet
website	www.BenSollee.com
notable instruments	}}

Ben Sollee (b. ca. 1984) is a cellist and vocalist known for his percussive playing style, genre hopping songwriting, wide appeal, and political activism. His music incorporates banjo, guitar, percussion and unusual cello techniques to create a unique mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz and R&B.

Musical career

Raised in Lexington, Kentucky, Sollee began playing the cello in elementary school. Besides classical music, his early musical influences included recordings his parents played of Wilson Pickett, Ray Charles, Billie Holiday and Otis Redding, and later he discovered folk music.

In 2005, Sollee joined with Abigail Washburn (banjo and vocals), Bela Fleck (banjo) and Casey Driessen (violin) to form The Sparrow Quartet. The group's debut album, ''Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet'', was released in May 2008. That same month, Sollee came out with his first EP ''If You’re Gonna Lead My Country''. A month later, in June 2008, he released his solo debut album ''Learning to Bend''.

In 2007, NPR's ''Morning Edition'' named Sollee one of the "Top Ten Unknown Artists of the Year". Following the release of his album in 2008, the public radio network's All Things Considered aired a feature on Sollee, describing ''Learning to Bend'' as "an inspired collection of acoustic, folk and jazz-flavored songs, filled with hope and the earnest belief that the world is good."

Sollee has also been featured on the PBS series ''On Canvas'', recorded at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia; he was 17 years old when he started a weekly run as the cellist on the house band, the Folk Boy Orchestra, of the radio program WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour. Sollee's song "How to See the Sun Rise" was featured in a Season 4 episode of the Showtime television series Weeds.

In March 2009, he began touring with the Vienna Teng Trio, which is led by pianist/singer-songwriter Vienna Teng, and The Paper Raincoats, a band from Brooklyn, New York.

Dear Companion, out February 16, 2010 on Sub Pop Records, is collaboration between three Kentucky musicians. The songs are written and performed by Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore, and produced by and featuring Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Monsters of Folk. Recorded in the first half of 2009 in their home state, Dear Companion explores their ties to the place they love and aims to draw attention to the problem of mountaintop removal coal mining and its impact on the people and heritage of central Appalachia. The album debuted at number 6 in the nation.

On August 12th, 2011, Ben Sollee made a surprise appearance at the Kentucky Coffeetree Cafe in Frankfort, KY to play at an open mic in support of Commonwealth Gardens, a local community gardening group fighting to empower local food production and consumption. He played about 6 or 7 songs with various musicians, mostly his drummer Jordon Ellis.

Political activism

Sollee's music frequently touches on social issues including poverty and environmental issues. As a native of Kentucky he is especially passionate about the issue of mountaintop removal in coal mining. This is one of the themes of his collaboration album Dear Companion. He frequently plays benefit concerts for the organizations Kentuckians For the Commonwealth and Oxfam America, and has made several tours of Kentucky on his bicycle, stopping in smaller towns between his headlining performances. Of specific note is the tour in the Summer of 2009 which was put on in conjunction with Oxfam America, in which he traveled 330 miles to the Bonnaroo festival with his supplies and cello strapped to his bicycle. He uses a special long-frame bicycle made by Xtracycle which weighs about 60 lbs when fully packed.

Discography

''If You’re Gonna Lead My Country'' EP (2008)

"Something Worth Keeping" EP (2008)

''Learning to Bend'' (2008)

"Dear Companion (with Daniel Martin Moore)" (2010)

"Inclusions" (2011)

See also

Sparrow Quartet

References

External links

Ben Sollee's official website

Oxfam America blog entry and video about Sollee's work with the humanitarian organization

Category:Living people Category:People from Lexington, Kentucky Category:American cellists Category:American male singers Category:Songwriters from Kentucky