World Geodetic System
The World Geodetic System (WGS) is a standard for use in cartography, geodesy, and navigation including GPS.
It comprises a standard coordinate system for the Earth, a standard for raw altitude data, and a geoid that defines the nominal sea level. The latest revision is WGS 84.
World Geodetic System Media
Gravimetric datum orientation.*Ellipsoid of astro-geodetically oriented datum**Gravimetrically-oriented ellipsoid
Doppler satellite ground stations providing data for WGS 72 development
Worldwide geometric satellite triangulation network, BC-4 cameras
Equatorial (a), polar (b) and mean Earth radii as defined in the 1984 World Geodetic System revision (not to scale)
WGS 84 reference frame. The oblateness of the ellipsoid is exaggerated in this image.
Handheld GPS receiver at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, indicating that the Greenwich meridian is 0.089 arcminutes (or 5.34 arcseconds) west of the WGS 84 datum (the IERS Reference Meridian)
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