Many of our observations in geology, such as plate tectonics, are not explained by a flat Earth.Ī spherical Earth is also a fundamental fact of navigation.Īnd of course we have many photographs of a spherical Earth from space. We now know that if the Earth were a flat disc instead of a sphere, gravity would also tend to pull people at the edges inwards towards the centre, not just down towards the surface-with all sorts of strange effects that we do not observe. If you dont what that means its basically the shape of a rugby ball. This is shown in the top panel of figure 11. But incredibly, there remain people today who still believe that the Earth is flat. On a round earth, the tops of the Rocky Mountains receive sunlight first because they are miles above the land to the east and therefore have a more distant horizon. A number of ancient cultures believed that Earth is flat because, simply, they didn’t know any better. But on a round earth, the exact opposite occurs. This view persisted in the ancient world until empirical observations revealed that Earth’s shape was spherical or ellipsoidal. Solar illumination as a function of time on a flat earth. The Greek mathematician Eratosthenes and the Roman-Greek-Egyptian mathematician Ptolemy were able to estimate the circumference of the Earth quite accurately, by measuring the angle of the sun in different places at the same time. but it isnt flat, its more of an oblate spheroid. flat Earth, the perception that Earth exists as a flat disk, either circular or square-shaped.
In modern times, however, the notion of a flat Earth has been revived and promoted on social media despite scientific.
This view persisted in the ancient world until empirical observations revealed that Earth’s shape was spherical or ellipsoidal. While the Earth appears to be round when viewed from the vantage point of space, it is actually closer to an ellipsoid. Indeed people were able to demonstrate this in several ways more than two thousand years ago.Īristotle, for instance, observed that the Earth’s shadow on the moon during a lunar eclipse is always circular. flat Earth, the perception that Earth exists as a flat disk, either circular or square-shaped. There are many ways to prove that the Earth is spherical. You can help us take action – and get our regular free email You might have noticed that there are some people who question whether the Earth is really round, or who actually believe (or claim to believe) that its flat.
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