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. 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. Please list any fees and grants from, employment by, consultancy for, shared ownership in or any close relationship with, at any time over the preceding 36 months, any organisation whose interests may be affected by the publication of the response. 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. Is the Earth Round or Flat - Volume 16 Issue 221. There are many ways to prove that the Earth is spherical. The myth of Columbus’ supposed flat earth theory is tempting: It casts the explorer’s intrepid journey in an even more daring light. You can help us take action – and get our regular free email
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