No, the earth is not flat

[KrisWampler]

I can appreciate questioning the powers that be and all, but the earth is not flat. Two indisputable observations prove it:

1. You cannot see all stars from all points, and that's due to curve of the earth. From our perspective in the northern hemisphere, we cannot see the Southern Cross. And they cannot see northern hemisphere stars from the south. I have never seen a flat earther explain how this can possibly comport with their dome model. If you've ever visited a dome (like the Capitol Rotunda) you can see everything in it from any point under it. Look at any of the countless models of the so-called flat earth online. Pick a point - any point. Then ask yourself why you cannot see all the stars from that point. It simply does not make sense.
2. The apparent rotation of the stars is another easy objection to the flat earth model. When you observe the stars and trace them over the course of an evening, they appear to rotate counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern. Known as diurnal motion, this fits exactly with what you would expect from a sphere. It's not even worth exploring how different constellations of stars could appear to rotate in complete opposite directions under a dome.

Again, these are observations anyone can make with their own eyes. There is no room for CGI, fish eye lenses, NASA conspiracies, or the other usual litany of conspiracies flat earthers use to dismiss "globe earthers" out of hand. Sorry. Earth isn't flat.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

You cannot see all stars from all points, and that's due to curve of the earth.

Before "you" read below, I WANT ALL TO KNOW that I am not antagonizing anyone.

I'm not a "flat-earther" but I do wonder why I've been observing the same general set of stars for nearly fifty years since I was a kid with a conscience. Shouldn't I have been seeing a vast array of different constellations and arrangements of stars? If I don't see the Big Dipper, it seems like all I have to do is wait a few hours and it'll show up. South Africa is the closest country to be opposite of me (from Leavenworth Washington). Does South Africa see the same set of stars that I do or do they receive a completely different array of stars?

 

[KrisWampler]

Before "you" read below, I WANT ALL TO KNOW that I am not antagonizing anyone.

I'm not a "flat-earther" but I do wonder why I've been observing the same general set of stars for nearly fifty years since I was a kid with a conscience. Shouldn't I have been seeing a vast array of different constellations and arrangements of stars? If I don't see the Big Dipper, it seems like all I have to do is wait a few hours and it'll show up. South Africa is the closest country to be opposite of me (from Leavenworth Washington). Does South Africa see the same set of stars that I do or do they receive a completely different array of stars?

Look for the Southern Cross tonight. You won't find it from Washington. There is your answer. Yes, different stars are seen in different parts of the world.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Look for the Southern Cross tonight. You won't find it from Washington. There is your answer. Yes, different stars are seen in different parts of the world.

Huh. I've never heard of the Southern Cross.

 

[KrisWampler]

Huh. I've never heard of the Southern Cross.

It's "official" name is Crux. I like the name Southern Cross better, not just for the song haha

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crux

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Since the earth whips around the sun once per year, why wouldn't we all get an eventual 360 view of the night sky?

Again, I'm not trying to be a jerk. This is a serious question that I don't know the answer to. I'm not trying to trap anyone.

 

[KrisWampler]

Since the earth whips around the sun once per year, why wouldn't we all get an eventual 360 view of the night sky?

Because the stars are also bound by gravity to rotate.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Because the stars are also bound by gravity to rotate.

I guess I can't comprehend that. I mean, I think I get it, but . . .

 

[KrisWampler]

I guess I can't comprehend that. I mean, I think I get it, but . . .

I don't pretend to understand it all. But it makes more sense than the dome thing. The flat earther is forced to invent all sorts of weird things to account for what we can see, when the simplest explanation of all the observable facts is that the earth is a sphere.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

I don't pretend to understand it all. But it makes more sense than the dome thing. The flat earther is forced to invent all sorts of weird things to account for what we can see, when the simplest explanation of all the observable facts is that the earth is a sphere.

"The dome thing" made me laugh out loud. I dunno. I think that both sides have to believe things that they can't really explain. I suppose I enjoy being in the middle. My gut tells me that the earth is round and being a hardcore Bible believer, I don't see anything that proves to me that it's flat, either. Sure, there are passages that indicate that it is, but it doesn't really fit in with the logical scope of things . . . I [think]. I haven't kept track of the passages that would indicate either way . . . and I don't plan to.

What makes me question the globe idea is why members from the ISS don't have online photo albums of what I THINK would be the most coveted photos on earth . . . which would be the moon rising and setting on the earth. (The constant use of fisheye lenses would really mess things up if the moon were in the frame of view.) I mean, we see the sun in those ISS videos ALL the bloody time, but why not the moon? I don't know if those videos are fake (though they appear to be to me) nor do I really care . . . I'm just saying that those videos of earth and moon would be absolutely priceless. The moon seems to be a real issue when it comes to videos. I mean, the lunar videos . . . why aren't there any videos of the little rovers running around with the earth in the background? I know that as a filmmaker, I'd want the earth in the background. How awesome would that be! How easy it would have been to just get the rovers between the earth and me. Simple! Or "Hey, do you little moonwalk over this way so that I can film you with the earth in the background!" Same thing with the Chinese lunar films . . . no earth.

Am I the only one that would really like to see the earth from the moon? Am I really the only one that wants to see the moon from the ISS? I don't know what's real and what isn't. All I know is that what I do see; well, it looks silly. And second, I don't see the earth from the moon nor the moon from the ISS and that makes me question it all.

Is that fair?

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

I stand corrected. There are quite a few "photos" of round earth from the moon (with astronauts in them), but they're so stupid-looking. I can't believe that we were so ignorant back in the day that we couldn't "see" the ridiculousness of it all. They're literally laughable.

 

[FrancisClare]

I had a student from Africa who spent the whole trip over here watching out the window to see the round earth. Not seeing it he concluded he'd been right all along and the earth was flat. He went on to become a very nice Priest. He never changed his mind about the earth being flat. A delightful man.

 

[TheLearner]

kool

 

[FrancisClare]

That being said, the earth is quite round. And if you'd read your Gertrude Stein you'd know that!

 

[FrancisClare]

And if anyone catches that Gertrude Stein allusion i will include you in my prayers for the rest of my life!

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

I've been looking at the round earth from the lunar walks and began to wonder if the reason for why there are so few is because the weather patterns could have been identified. Another weird thing was that the shots of the round earth showed the exact same cloud formations. I guess it just seems odd that google would show pics of the earth with the exact same storm systems. Why would they use the same photo but simply reshape or resize it to make it look like they're different photos? A couple years ago I was looking for photos of round earth and I could have sworn I saw one where the clouds actually spelled out a word.

 

[FrancisClare]

And if you are an

I've been looking at the round earth from the lunar walks and began to wonder if the reason for why there are so few is because the weather patterns could have been identified. Another weird thing was that the shots of the round earth showed the exact same cloud formations. I guess it just seems odd that google would show pics of the earth with the exact same storm systems. Why would they use the same photo but simply reshape or resize it to make it look like they're different photos? A couple years ago I was looking for photos of round earth and I could have sworn I saw one where the clouds actually spelled out a word.

Friend you are making an interesting attempt at an argument but darned if I can figure out your point.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

And if you are an



Friend you are making an interesting attempt at an argument but darned if I can figure out your point.

Sorry. I was making random thoughts. It just seems to me that when I look at the moon with my own eyes, and then we see full images of the moon, they always look real. They never look fake at all. But, picture of "whole" round earth, well, they just look stupid. The colors of the whole moon look valid, but the whole photos of earth have different colorings, dorky looking cloud formations, and the colors make the whole thing look fabricated. I mean, I can tell the difference between a photo that just has poor color, for my own cell phone doesn't take good pictures that don't accurately disclose the color, but its easy to tell that they're real. But these photos of earth just look like they're completely made up.

Oh, and I found that one photo of the earth cloud formations that spell the word SEX. LOL - how crazy.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Another weird thing about the ISS "live" videos of the spaceship whipping around earth is that although it's "live," the videos always get cut off because of a lack of transmission . . . when it comes back online, it seems like a whole new scene. I've spent time talking with the person monitoring the live feed and they were deleting many of my questions, ignoring them altogether. I thought that was pretty weird.

I saw the sun a lot . . . but not once did their live feed ever show the moon. That doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[2ndTimothyGroup]

Another weird thing about the ISS live feed is that the curve of the earth is really, really curved! But, then as the spaceship changes angle, the earth looses its curve altogether . . . becoming totally flat if not slightly concave. If earth was round, how does it get flat? And if the earth was flat, how does it get round? I'll be 55 years old and I've never, not once, owned a camera that made a ball appear to be flat, nor have I ever owned a camera that made the straight edge of anything made to appear as round as a ball.