As rapper B.o.B launches a fundraising campaign to check if the Earth if flat, there are some cost-effective ways to prove conventional science is right and save him the bother.
From looking to the Sun and stars, it’s possible to prove that the Earth is spherical without a crowdfunding campaigning.
1. Watch a lunar eclipse
The Earth casts a shadow on the Moon as it passes though so if you look closely enough (a decent telescope should do it), you might be able to see a shaded arc. It’s always an arc and never a square or a rectangle.
2. Send a camera into space
A basic kit will set you back £194 but those amazing photos of the Earth’s curvature will be so worth it. Plus, it makes great evidence to show the Flat Earther next door how our planet is shaped.
3. Watch a sunset lying on the ground
If you watch the sunset lying on your back, you’ll find it disappears in the horizon. But if you stand up, you should still be able to see the sun as it sets in the distant horizon.
And if you happen to be at the ocean looking at ships, they will appear to emerge from the ocean – in a bottom-up direction. This is possible only because the ocean follows the curvature of the Earth and gradually drops from our line of sight.
If the earth was flat the water would stay at the same level.
4. Look at the stars
A phenomenon first observed by Aristotle many, many years ago when he was returning from Egypt, the premise is the further you go away from the equator the further known constellations go towards the horizon.
This phenomenon can only be explained with a round surface.
Aristotle also concluded the Earth wasn’t very large, because a small change in distance makes a huge difference in terms of what we see in the night sky.
5. Observe the time zones
But that wouldn’t be the case if the Earth was flat. If the Sun shone directionally on a flat Earth, we would be able to see at all times.
So basically, the only way these timezones can happen is if the world is spherical.
And if everything else fails, take note of what former astronauts Buzz Aldrin (he went to the Moon, remember) and Terry Virts have to say.
I can save BoB a lot of money- The Earth is round. I flew around it. https://t.co/F7qAovPEng @bobatl @BBCWorld
— Terry Virts (@AstroTerry) September 27, 2017
I did too. It’s called an orbit: the curved path of a celestial object around a star, planet, or moon. https://t.co/h8GQJadfxD
— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) September 27, 2017
And look at these awesome photos from Nasa.
