Spheroid

A spheroid is a "squashed sphere"

Try different styles in this animation here:

A spheroid can be made by taking an ellipse and rotating it about its minor or major axis. Press play to see:

When the ellipse is rotated around its:

• Minor axis (shorter axis) we get an oblate spheroid, like a rugby ball
• Major axis (longer axis) we get a prolate spheroid, like an egg in a cup

Axes of an ellipse

These spheroids are the same, just rotated 90°

The Planet Earth, our home, is squashed a little at the poles,
making it an oblate spheroid, but a very mild version of one.

Here are some more examples:

A rugby ball lying flat is an oblate spheroid

An egg in a cup, sitting upright it is like a prolate spheroid