Kern at the South Pole
Gravity, the force that draws objects together in proportion to their mass, varies depending on where you're standing on Earth. That's because our planet is not a perfect sphere with uniform density. With varying gravity, an object's weight also changes. Now scientists are charting these gravitational discrepancies with a jet-setting gnome whose weight is recorded at various spots across the globe.
Reaching the South Pole
Here, the gnome is standing at the Antarctic South Pole. Turns out, the gnome (and you) weighs more at the South Pole than at the equator.
South Pole Telescope
Kern the gnome in front of the South Pole Telescope (SPT), located at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica.
Off to Japan
Kern the gnome in Japan.
Gnome in Mexico
The experiment is making Kern well-traveled indeed. Here, the gnome in Mexico City.
German Gnome in America
Kern the gnome gets weighed by the Golden Gate Bridge in California.
South Pole Gnome
Kern with his human host, Marie McLane, at the geographic South Pole.
South Pole or Bust
Kern weighed his highest weight at the South Pole.
