Zooming In On Distant Boats Does Not Disprove Earth’s Curvature

If a distant boat is not visible, then it is because of at least one of these reasons:

  • Our eyes have limited angular resolution and are unable to resolve the ship at that distance.
  • The atmospheric condition is limiting our visibility.
  • The curvature of the Earth obscures the ship.

Flat-Earthers like to demonstrate that a previously invisible ship at a distance can be made visible by zooming in. They would use it to disprove Earth’s curvature. They are wrong. There are reasons other than Earth’s curvature that can obscure a distant boat.

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Nikon P900 & P1000: Correctly Focus & Expose Stars & Planets

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The Nikon P900 and Nikon P1000 are cameras with a very high zoom factor. However, like most other cameras, they have difficulties focusing and exposing bright & small objects against dark backgrounds. They will require special tricks to get proper images of stars and planets.

Some flat-Earthers pointed their Nikon P900 or P1000 to stars and planets, took out of focus images of them and believed the photos are the “real images of stars and planets.” In reality, the photos are simply the results of their failures to operate their cameras.

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Polaris Altitude from Multiple Locations on Earth

The angle (or altitude) to Polaris approximately corresponds to the latitude of the observer. This fact is observed on every location on Earth where Polaris is visible.

By tracing the path to Polaris from multiple locations on the flat Earth model, the lines will not point to a consistent position of Polaris. The reason is that the Earth is a sphere and the flat Earth model does not represent reality.

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‘Flat’ vs ‘Level’

‘Flat’ and ‘Level can mean approximately the same thing in everyday conversation. But in the context of science and engineering, they have different meanings. ‘Flat’ describes a planar surface. ‘Level’ means at the same height or perpendicular to the direction of Earth’s gravity.

Flat-Earthers interpret the word ‘level’ as if it always has the same meaning as ‘flat.’ However, in the scientific context, the two words have different meanings. Insisting that both words to have the same meaning is the fallacy of appeal to definition.

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Sunset with a Solar Filter

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The apparent size of the Sun is constant throughout the day, from sunrise to sunset, seen from anywhere on Earth. This fact disproves the flat Earth model and is only consistent with the spherical Earth model.

Flat-Earthers like to show us videos of the Sun that appears shrinking during a sunset. They merely failed to control the exposure. Using a solar filter or the in-camera exposure settings, the size of the Sun will appear constant during a sunset.

The apparent size of the Sun is constant throughout the day, seen from anywhere on Earth, from sunrise to sunset. This fact is only possible if the Sun is very far compared to the distance between any two observers on Earth.

Visibility of the Moon from Two Opposing Locations on Earth

Some flat-Earthers are confused that two observers on the opposing locations on Earth can observe the Moon at the same time, and they would use it as ‘proof’ that the Earth is not a sphere. It is merely a spatial cognition problem by the flat-Earthers.

Any observer on Earth’s surface has 180° vertical field of view over the entire sky. They can observe objects low on the horizon, not just objects above them. Observers on the opposing sides of the Earth would have no problem seeing the Moon at the same time.

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Railroads and Earth’s Curvature

Railways are built to follow Earth’s terrain, minimizing the grade/slope as much as possible. Consequently, they all follow Earth’s curvature. And many of them were built by explicitly accounting for the curve of the Earth.

Flat-Earthers claim that railroads are straight, and never built by accounting for Earth’s curvature. They are wrong. The leveling works were done in such a way to minimize the effect of Earth’s curvature. There are also multiple books describing railroad constructions where the curvature of the Earth is specifically accounted for.

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FotoForensics & Error Level Analysis (ELA)

An online digital photo forensics tool like FotoForensics.com uses Error Level Analysis (ELA) to discover the error level differences on a photograph that was saved using a lossy compression algorithm, like JPEG. ELA algorithm enables us to determine if a photo was digitally modified. Similar surfaces and similar edges should appear similar under ELA. If not, it might indicate a digital manipulation.

Flat-Earthers like to use ELA to ‘prove’ a photo has been tampered with. It occurs because they do not understand how ELA works. Most of them appear to assume if the picture is an original, it would show a uniform ELA. Using such a digital forensic ‘skill’, we can actually ‘prove’ all digital photos as fake.

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Observation of Earth’s Curvature from Near the Surface

Observing Earth’s curvature is more difficult when we are too close to Earth’s surface. The highest place within reach of the general public is a commercial passenger flight. Even then, it is still difficult to casually discern the curvature of the Earth from an airplane. With some effort, it is possible to observe the curve of the Earth from a location closer to the surface, as long as we are willing to do some planning and careful observation.

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Geoid and Altitude Above Sea Level

The geoid is the shape that the ocean would take under the influence of the gravity and rotation of Earth alone. The geoid is smooth but irregular because Earth’s density and surface are uneven. ‘Height above sea level’ is measured relative to the geoid.

Some flat-Earthers claim that measuring height above sea level is not possible if the Earth is spherical. They are wrong. Height/altitude/elevation is usually measured relative to the geoid, which is approximately a sphere. The geoid is a more accurate model depicting the shape of the Earth, compared to the spherical & ellipsoid model.

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Argument from Persecution

The argument from persecution is a fallacy that asserts that if your ideas provoke others to vilify or suppress you, then you must be right. Note: this fallacy is better known as the Galileo gambit. However, in this case, flat-Earthers themselves are the ones defaming Galileo and his ideas.

Flat-Earthers commit the fallacy when they show off that their ideas are being mocked, censored, or deleted. They get such the treatment not because they are right. But because by believing in a flat Earth, they have to accuse a lot of people of being dishonest and part of a global conspiracy.

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Leveling

Leveling is the process of determining the elevation of a point relative to another point. The curvature of the Earth and atmospheric refraction affect the result of leveling. There are techniques and formulas to correct the effect of Earth’s curvature and atmospheric refraction.

Flat-Earthers assume that construction works like roads, bridges, railways, etc. are built without accounting for Earth’s curvature. They are wrong. The leveling in such works are done in such a way it minimizes the errors due to Earth’s curvature and atmospheric refraction.

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Axiological Analysis

The shape of the Earth can also be determined from the axiological standpoint. If knowledge of a particular shape of the Earth has many applications we use every day, while the other has none, then we can be sure the one with many applications is the correct shape of the Earth.

There is absolutely no technology that depends on the supposed ‘knowledge’ that the Earth is flat. On the other hand, there is plenty of technology we use every day that depend on the understanding that the Earth is a sphere. And therefore, we can be sure that the Earth is a sphere.

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Earth Globe

An Earth globe is a spherical model of Earth with similar purposes to maps, but unlike maps, do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. The Greeks from the 3rd century BC knew Earth is a sphere, and the earliest globe appeared from that period.

Flat-Earthers take the appearance of a globe before NASA existed as a sign of misconduct, like Universal Studios logo from the 20s. They incorrectly claim that it should not be possible to know Earth is a sphere before the first spaceflight. In reality, we knew spherical Earth since 3rd century BC and globes were already commonplace far before the first spaceflight. In fact, the success of spaceflight depends on our understanding of the spherical shape of the Earth.

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The Moon and Stars in a Single Picture

Stars are not visible in photos of the Moon –including those taken from the lunar surface— because the Moon is sunlit. The exposure needed to take a photograph of the Moon is not that much different from that used to take a photo in daylight on Earth’s surface.

To demonstrate this, we can try taking a picture of the Moon with stars visible, on the conditions: 1. The lunar features, like the craters, are correctly exposed, not overexposed. 2. Taken in a single exposure, not HDR, and not the result of editing. Even if we are using the best camera available today, the stars can’t show up in large enough quantity.

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Buzz Aldrin’s Interview & the Quote-Mining by Flat Earthers

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In September 2015, Buzz Aldrin gave an interview at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. Flat-Earthers misrepresented and quoted it out of context as if Buzz was admitting that the Apollo Moon landings never happened.

The original interview was 17 minutes long, and there were other occasions Buzz clearly said the Moon landings happened, without any possibility of misinterpretation.

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High-Altitude Nuclear Explosions (HANE)

High-altitude nuclear explosions (HANE) are the results of atomic weapons testing, conducted by the United States and the Soviet Union between 1958 and 1963. In these tests, nuclear warheads were launched and deliberately detonated at a high altitude, between 23 km and 540 km.

Flat-Earthers claim that HANEs were produced by attempts to penetrate the mythical dome enclosing the supposed flat Earth using nuclear weapons. They are wrong. The warheads were deliberately detonated at a high altitude, and the mythical dome does not exist in reality, only in their imaginations.

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Shell Theorem

Shell theorem is a simplification stating that a spherical body affects external objects gravitationally as though all of its mass were concentrated at a point at its center.

The direction of Earth’s gravity toward the center of the Earth made some flat-Earthers to assume that we think gravity is caused by something in the center, and that our inability to go there “disproves” gravity. They are wrong. Earth’s gravity is the result of the entire mass of Earth. Using the center of the Earth is merely a simplification.

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Nikola Tesla was not a Flat Earther

Nikola Tesla was a genuine physicist, engineer, and inventor. He knew very well that the Earth is a rotating sphere, gravity exists, stars are very far, planets are not stars, etc.

Flat-Earthers often claim Nikola Tesla as their own, as if he believed in a flat Earth. These claims are quickly proven wrong by merely reading some of Tesla’s writings. It is obvious from his writings that he was not a flat-Earther.

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The Appearance of the Moon on the Different Locations on Earth

Everyone on Earth observes the same face and phase of the Moon at the same time, provided the Moon is visible from the location of the observer. This fact is contrary to what the flat Earth model requires. It rules out the possibility of a flat-Earth and that the Moon is a sphere hovering a few thousand miles above Earth’s surface.

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