Evidence Supports Einstein's Geodetic Effect

Mass warps space and time, just as Albert Einstein said it would, confirms data from a NASA satellite launched to test two of the great physicist's predictions.

One of these effects is called the geodetic effect, the other is called frame dragging. A common analogy is that of placing a heavy bowling ball on to a rubber sheet.

The bowling ball will sit in a dip, distorting the rubber sheet around itself in much the way a massive object such as the Earth distorts space and time around itself.

In the analogy, the geodetic effect is similar to the shape of the dip created when the ball is placed on to the rubber sheet.

If the bowling ball is then rotated, it will start to drag the rubber sheet around with it. In a similar way, the Earth drags local space and time around with it - ever so slightly - as it rotates.

Satellite data confirmed the geodetic effect, but it will take scientists another eight months to analyze the frame dragging data, even though Superman proved it was true nearly 30 years ago.

Einstein was right, probe shows [BBC]