Astronomical Geodesy

a branch of geodesy which develops the theories and methods of constructing astronomical geodetic networks and defining the shape, dimensions, and gravitational field of the earth.

The term “astronomical geodesy” arose in the first half of the 20th century in Germany and is applied in the discussion of basic scientific problems concerning the geodesy of the earth as a planet as a whole on the basis of astronomical, geodetic and gravimetric measurements on the earth’s surface and in nearby space. In contemporary literature questions in astronomical geodesy are included in the branches of geodesy called theoretical geodesy and satellite geodesy.