Non-Stop, Long-Haul Flight Routes in the Southern Hemisphere

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There are many non-stop, long-haul flight routes between different continents in the southern hemisphere, without crossing the northern hemisphere. These routes are only possible if Earth is a sphere, and impossible if Earth is flat.

Flat-Earthers claim that all long-haul flights south of the Equator always do a stop north of the Equator. In reality, there are plenty of non-stop routes between these locations, showing that Earth is a sphere.

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Qantas QF14 Flight: Buenos Aires – Darwin

In early October 2021, Qantas flew a one-off repatriation flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Darwin, Australia. It was the southernmost long-haul flight closer to the South Pole than any other passenger flight.

If Earth were flat, the flight should fly over South America, Canada, Russia, Japan, and Indonesia. But it flew over Antarctica instead, because the Earth is a sphere, not flat.

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ETOPS

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ETOPS is a safety regulation that prohibits airliners from flying too far from the nearest diversion airport. A higher ETOPS rating allows the flight to fly farther from the closest airport but has more stringent requirements, demanding higher operational costs.

As of 2021, there is no flight route over Antarctica, and flat-Earthers use it to “prove” a flat Earth. In reality, a reason for that is the lack of diversion airports in Antarctica, requiring aircraft with a higher ETOPS rating. Due to costs & the lack of market, no airliner considers it commercially viable yet.

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Flying Over Antarctica: Airliner vs Private Flight

Commercial passenger airliners are similar to public transits. The operator determines the route, and passengers take them if they fulfill their needs. On the other hand, a private flight is similar to a taxi. The passenger determines the origin and destination of the flight.

There is currently no airliner providing a route over Antarctica, and flat-Earthers use it to “prove” that it is impossible to fly over Antarctica. In reality, the airliners simply decide not to provide such routes due to commercial or other reasons. Not because it is impossible to fly over Antarctica. We can take private flights if we really want to fly over to Antarctica, just like we take taxis to go to a location not serviced by public transit.

Hawaiian-Japanese-Buddhist Flat-Earth Map by Dr. Kobayashi

The lost world is a genre of fiction involving the discovery of an unknown world, popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s when the remnants of lost civilizations were being discovered by westerners. However, newspapers of the era often published such works in a way it might not be obvious that these are just works of fiction.

In 1907, the Hawaiian Gazette published one of such works titled “Was This World Map Made Ten Centuries Ago,” illustrated with the so-called Kobayashi map, for a more powerful story. Flat-Earthers fail to realize it was a work of fiction that was common in the era. The tale & the Kobayashi map spread in flat-Earth communities as a hoax.

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Sydney-Santiago Flight Route

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The Sydney-Santiago flight route is one of the southernmost passenger flights. Such a route is impossible if Earth were flat and confirms that Earth is a sphere. It is easy to verify the existence of this route from flight websites.

On a flat Earth, this route should go across the United States. But the duration of the Sydney-Santiago route with a stop in the US is much longer than the non-stop route because Earth is a sphere, and this route does not go anywhere near the United States.

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James Cook’s Second Voyage

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The second voyage of James Cook was commissioned to search for the hypothetical continent Terra Australis in the Southern Pacific Ocean.  He explored the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the process and proved there is no such continent unless it is over the South Pole itself, which we now call Antarctica.

Some sources stated that Cook traveled over 60000 miles in his second voyage. Flat-Earthers use the figure as Antarctica’s circumference and claim it as “evidence” that Antarctica is much more than a continent. In reality, James Cook explored the vast ocean and did much more than just circumnavigating Antarctica.

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Polar Circumnavigation

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Polar circumnavigation is complete navigation around Earth through both the North Pole and the South Pole. Several parties have successfully done it, and it is only possible if Earth is a sphere.

Flat-Earthers incorrectly claim that Earth circumnavigation has never been done through both the poles, and they use it to “prove” a flat Earth. In reality, many have successfully done such feats.

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Distortion of Antarctica on Maps

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Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, but on a Mercator map, it can appear larger than all the other continents combined due to the map’s distortion characteristic.

Flat-Earthers regard such “size discrepancy” as a failure of science to describe the world. In reality, map distortion also causes Antarctica’s huge size compared to other continents in the azimuthal equidistant map which they falsely claim as the so-called “flat-Earth map”.

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Magnetic Dip

A magnetic compass is less usable near the poles partly due to magnetic dip. One of the Earth’s poles is much closer and affects the needle more strongly than the other pole. As a result, Earth’s magnetic field pulls the needle toward the ground.

Flat-Earthers claim that a compass is unusable only near Antarctica. In reality, the same also occurs near the North Pole. Magnetic dip, as observed on various locations on Earth, can only happen if the Earth is spherical.

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Antarctic Circle vs Antartica’s Ice Perimeter

The circumference of the Antarctic Circle is 15909 km, while one measurement of the perimeter of Antarctica’s ice is 53610 km. The numbers are different because the Antarctic Circle is circular, while the perimeter of Antarctica’s ice has a complex shape.

The circumference of the Equator is 40075 km and the 53610 km figure exceeds it. Flat-Earthers use it as “evidence” of a flat Earth. In reality, the 53610 figure is a measurement of the irregularly shaped Antarctica’s ice perimeter, not the circular Antarctic Circle.

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Sun Compass and Richard E. Byrd’s Flight Toward the North Pole

In 1926, Richard E. Byrd flew near the North Pole and used a sun compass for navigation. A regular magnetic compass is less usable near the poles because it points toward the magnetic pole, which is different from the geographic pole, and that the needle will point toward the ground due to the magnetic dip.

Flat-Earthers are too fixated on the stories about Richard E. Byrd’s compass being unusable in Antarctica and use it as “evidence” of flat Earth, as if it only happens in Antarctica. They failed to realize that the same thing also occurs near the North Pole, and Richard E. Byrd himself also prepared for it.

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Temperature Differences Between the Equatorial & Polar Areas

Polar areas have a lower temperature than areas closer to the equator because the same amount of solar radiation is dispersed over a larger area, and the surface of ice and snow reflects more sunlight than darker surfaces.

In the spherical Earth model, the distance to the Sun from the poles and the equator is practically the same because the sun is much farther than the distance between any two locations on Earth. Because of that reason, flat-Earthers then claim that the temperature in polar and equatorial areas should be the same. In reality, the distance to the sun is not the only factor that can determine temperature.

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Locations on a Similar Latitude and the Differences in their Conditions

Different locations on a comparable latitude can have some similarities. However, the latitude is not the only factor that decides seasonal changes, biodiversity, temperatures, and other conditions. The conditions can be vastly different even on places on the similar latitudes.

Flat-Earthers highlight the differences between locations on a similar latitude to the North and South of the Equator and conclude Earth must be flat. They are wrong. There are factors other than latitude that determine the differences.

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Crossing the Continent of Antarctica

Crossing the continent of Antarctica is a feat that has been achieved multiple times. And it is only possible if Earth is a sphere. If Earth were flat, the expeditions would have to travel impossibly far, all the way to the other side of Earth.

Flat-Earthers claim that no such expedition has been attempted before. They are wrong. Crossing Antarctica has been done numerous times by multiple independent parties and using different methods.

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The Antarctic Treaty Conspiracy Theory

According to flat-Earthers, the shape of Earth is a flat circle. In the center is the north pole in the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica is not a continent, but instead an ice perimeter surrounding the ‘flat Earth.’

The problem is that there are people who visited Antarctica, and their information about Antarctica does not fit the flat Earth narration. To ‘deal with the problem,’ they invented conspiracy theory and assumed every person who claimed to have visited Antarctica is a part of the grand conspiracy; and they spread the information to deceive us. This way, flat-Earthers’ narration about Antarctica is no longer falsifiable. If something stands against them, their ‘solution’ is merely to add more people to the list of persons that are part of the grand conspiracy.

The existence of the Antarctic Treaty System is convenient. Flat-Earthers use it to support their narration.

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Ice Shelf: Not the Giant Ice Wall Surrounding the Earth

An ice shelf is a thick floating platform of ice. Ice shelves are found not only in Antarctica but also in Greenland, Canada, and Russia in the north polar region.

Flat-Earthers often show off pictures of an ice shelf as ‘proof’ of the existence of the mythical giant ice wall surrounding the Earth. They are wrong.

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The Starburst Effect is not Evidence of CGI

In photography, the starburst effect gives the illusion of light rays from strong light sources in an image. The effect happens when the lens’ aperture is not a perfect circle, and it gets more pronounced under a narrower aperture.

Flat-Earthers often find themselves looking for any peculiarity —no matter how small or unbelievable— to discredit any picture they deem unacceptable to their misguided causes. One of this peculiarity is the starburst effect.

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Antarctic Ice Domes: Not The Dome That is Supposedly Enclosing the Earth

An ice dome is one of many forms a glacier can take. It is an upright ice surface in the higher altitude portions of an ice cap or an ice sheet. There are many such features found on icy terrain. And Antarctica is no exception.

When an ice dome gets mentioned, flat-Earthers often confuse it with the mythical dome enclosing the Earth as described in most flat Earth model. No such dome actually exists.

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Midnight Sun in Both Polar Regions Proves Spherical Earth

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Midnight Sun is a phenomenon where the Sun remains visible at midnight. This phenomenon occurs in the summer months north of Arctic Circle, and south of the Antarctic Circle.

The apparent motion of the Sun in both polar regions is different. In the north polar region, the Sun moves from left to right. On the other hand, in Antarctica, the Sun moves from right to left. There is no explanation other than that Earth is a sphere.

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