Earth ellipsoid 地球椭球
An Earth ellipsoid is a mathematical figure approximating the shape of the Earth, used as a reference frame for computations in geodesy, astronomy and the geosciences. Various different ellipsoids have been used as approximations.
It is an ellipsoid of revolution, whose short (polar) axis (connecting the two flattest spots called geographical north and south poles) is approximately aligned with the rotation axis of the Earth. The ellipsoid is defined by the equatorial axis a and the polar axis b; their difference is about 21 km or 0.335 percent. Additional parameters are the mass function J2, the correspondent gravity formula, and the rotation period (usually 86164 seconds).