On the triaxiality of the earth on the basis of satellite data

Summary The evolution of the opinions as to the problem of the triaxiality of the Earth in the period prior to satellite geodesy can be seen, e.g., in[1–18]. Recently the opinion has been voiced that triaxiality is a result of the mathematical treatment of data rather than reality[19–21], especially since this is a comparatively small parameter. This opinion is not in contradiction with the results of satellite observations[22–28], but the non-zero values of the harmonic coefficients of the second degree and second order are a reality, they yield a value of the equatorial flattening of about1/90 000, and the representation of the equatorial section by an ellipse is justified even if the harmonics n=3, k=1 and n=3, k=3 have amplitudes only about half as small, and some other parameters might occur with just as much justification besides triaxiality.