 Source of image: www.nbrb.by
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| THE STRUVE GEODETIC ARC The fact that the Earth is not an exact sphere but rather a spheroid was first established in the 18th century. The measurements, however, did not produce accurate results. Therefore, in the 19th century the scientists of many countries carried out new triangulations such as East Indian, Hanoverian, Anglo-French, Prussian, and others.
Previous triangulations which were made for the purpose of determining the size and shape of the globe played an important role in the development of scientific knowledge. These were highly scientific surveys that directly involved the then noted astronomers and mathematicians, the Russian astronomer and geodesist Vasil Struve (1793-1864) being one of them.
Struve was in charge of the astronomical and geodetic surveys on several expeditions whose results enabled the measurement of the meridian arc of 25°20' in length or 2,880 km in terms of linear measurement, stretching from the Danube River to the Arctic Ocean and known as "the Struve Arc". In 1816, Carl Tenner made a start on the project within the boundaries of Vilno guberniya (province). It is the longest and most accurate meridian arc measurement ever made by the terrestrial researchers before the 20th century. The works on the Struve Arc continued in the years 1816 to 1855. Our compatriot, a Belarusian by the name of I.I. Khodzka (1800-1881) who became a renowned scientist afterwards, took part in these activities. 258 geodetic station points in 10 European countries, including Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova were established in the course of surveying.
In 2005, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided to inscribe the Struve Geodetic Arc on the World Heritage List in terms of the cultural property. Nowadays, at the turn of the 21st century, the Struve Arc is viewed as one of the important events in the development of world astronomy, geodesy, and mapping. Therefore, different countries are making every effort to find and preserve the landmarks established by Struve.
Belarus boasts 5 station points that are on the World Heritage List - Assaunitsa, Chakutsk, and Leskavichi in Brest region, Tupishki and Lapaty in Grodno region. All in all, there are 31 such points in our country.
Text from the official flyer “The Struve Geodetic Arc” of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus | |
| Date : 29.12.2006 |
| Metal : Ag 925 |
| Diameter, mm : 36.00 |
| Weight, g : 31.10 |
| Mintage, St. : 5000 |
Minted by :
CJSC "Lithuanian Mint", Vilnius, Lithuania |
Design :
O.Novoselova |
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Ebay-Statistic
(Prices in Euro):
| Year |
Count |
Ave
rage |
Min. |
Max. |
| 2006 |
0 |
0,00 |
0,00 |
0,00 |
| 2007 |
22 |
32,12 |
21,00 |
39,05 |
| 2008 |
15 |
34,64 |
22,52 |
50,49 |
| 2009 |
6 |
28,87 |
17,50 |
51,00 |
| 2010 |
2 |
31,50 |
30,00 |
33,00 |
| 2011 |
1 |
45,05 |
45,05 |
45,05 |
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