Canada has a low gravity spot, which researchers believe might be due in part to residual effects of heavy glaciers during the Ice Age. It is thought that the weight of the glaciers pressed down on the Earth’s crust in the area that is now northern Canada and left an impression that is still in the process of rebounding. Although the gravity levels continue to slowly increase at a rate of about 0.5 inches (1 cm) each year, the area has minimally less gravity — 0.1 ounces (2.8 g) for a 150-pound (68 kg) person — than the rest of the Earth. Scientists also believe that rocks in the Earth’s crust might be being pulled downward at the low gravity spot, contributing to the effect.
More about gravity:
- People are able to more accurately perceive gravity and how objects fall when they are sitting up than when they are lying on their sides.
- Bone mass is estimated to decrease by 1% for every month that astronauts are exposed to space’s lack of gravity.
- Jupiter has the strongest gravity of any planet. For example, a person who weighs 150 pounds (68 kg) on Earth would weigh 354 pounds (160.5 kg) on Jupiter.