Off the Edge
A Voyage of 201 proofs that Debunk Flat Earth once and for all!
A Voyage of 201 proofs that Debunk Flat Earth once and for all!
The story of Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the New World continues to be accompanied by a persistent and monumental error: the almost universally accepted fable that Columbus proved that the earth is round, to the astonishment of his contemporaries, who believed that it was flat and that one might sail off the edge. To put it in more sophisticated terms: the error is that one purpose, and certainly one result, of Columbus' voyage was to prove to medieval sceptics that the earth was round. In reality there were no sceptics, as educated people throughout Europe knew the earth's spherical shape and its approximate circumference.
201 proofs the heliocentric model is correct and the earth is a spinning and orbiting sphere
Or more accurately an oblate spheroid.
(Page under construction)
Incorrect Accounts of History
300 BC we have known earth sphere, not 1400's
The Earth is Really Spherical, Not Because “NASA Told Us So”
Scientific Method and Theories
Heliocentric model is a good theory
Flat earth has no model that can make predictions and therefore not even a theory
Geocentric model of Ptolemy had earth as a sphere. The fact human civilization has known the earth is a sphere for over 2000 years is proof itself.
Galileo - Moons of Jupiter showed earth not the center
Gravity
Theories of Gravity
Free Fall (9.8 m/s^2)
Gravitational Mass = Inertial Mass
Things are spherical in the universe
All the other planets are spheres including all the moons
Gravity on a spherical earth uniform on surface
Flat earth gravity is impossible because things pulled sideways.
Havendish experiment
Schiehallion Experiment
Density Tower
Explains why oceans stick to earth
Newtons laws prove spherical earth
General relativity proves spherical earth
LIGO
Escape Velocity
Altitude and Density - opposite what flat earthers say. Things weight MORE at sea level, not less.
Earth's gravitation acceleration VARIES with altitude, depth, latitude, Local topography
Hill Sphere - Why moon orbits earth even though suns gravity pulls harder (need to add centrifugal acceleration
Buoyancy
Archimedes and the Surface of any Fluid (based it on the earth is a sphere)
Density and the Balance Experiment
Conservation of Momentum
Explains helicopter experiment and many versions of this
Seeing/Curvature
NASA photos from space including 2015
The earth is big so can appear flat
Curvature studies
Forward - Back vs Side to Side
Observing Earth's Curvature from Near the Surface
Climbing Higher
So, Where’s the Curvature?
Seeing the curve - Concorde/Boom/Virgin flights (window rebuttal)
(Observing Earth’s Curvature on a Flight)
Seeing the curve ISS - 248 people including civilians (all liars?)
ISS speed and trajectory match perfectly spherical earth
Horizon experiments even with P900
Curvature of the Horizon in High-Altitude Balloon Footage
Telephoto lenses - ultra wide lens (left right curvature) vs telescopic (front-back curvature)
Zooming in on a Partially Obscured Ship
Flat earth laser and camera images are debunked
Seeing from a higher vantage point things come into view
The Dip of the Horizon (horizon does not rise to eye level)
Pilots things coming into view
flat-horizon - And we can sometimes see a very clear horizon if the distance to the horizon is well within our visibility range. If the Earth is flat, we would never be able to see a clear horizon, and the horizon will always be blurry.
Explains superior mirage
Explains why things do not vanish smaller and smaller
Flerspective - Invented explanation of why bottom part is clipped.
Perspective of a city vanishing point
Refraction effects and Snells Law (Unrealistic angles)
Atmospheric Refraction and the Position of the Sun in the Flat-Earth Model (.57%)
Magnifying Images Vertically to Reveal Earth’s Curvature (clear horizon contrast, wide, high, center and distortion correction
Deception: Need to point camera directly at horizon
Superior and Inferior Mirages
Water Level Demonstrates The Dip of the Horizon and Proves Earth’s Curvature
Horizon - Hull Up and Hull Down
Crow’s Nest on Ships
(Black swan case study)
(Toronto Case Study)
Lake Pontchartrain Power Transmission Lines: Evidence of Earth’s Curvature
Soundly Proving the Curvature of the Earth at Lake Pontchartrain
Evidence of Curvature: Turning Torso Building, Malmö, Sweden
Atchafalaya Basin Observations: Curved Water Found
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and The Curvature of The Earth
Bedford Level Experiment Confirmed the Curvature of the Earth
kansas pancake
Salt flats
Qibla direction proves earth is a sphere
Suez Canal - Level is Equipotential not flat
Nile River
Suspension Bridges Curvature (Humber Bridge)
Railroad tracks Curvature
Leveling and Surverying
Al-Biruni’s Method to Determine the Radius of the Earth
biot-arago
Curvature Analysis - Behind the Curve
Earth's Curvature Calculation
**Dizzibs calculator no refraction - Use Metabunks or Walter Bislins
Curvature app - http://walter.bislins.ch/curve
Other demonstrations (??)
The altitude of the observer.
The field of view of the camera.
Lens distortions of the camera.
Spin
Coriolis force
Airplanes DO correct for Corilois effect
Centrifual force exactly as a sphere predicts
Eötvös Effect: Direct Evidence Earth is a Rotating Sphere
Long-Range Snipers and the Coriolis & Eötvös Effects
Earth’s Rotation in Field Artillery Operation Manual
Ring Laser Gyroscope
"Behind the Curve" - Not interested in truth
The Foucault Pendulum Proves Spherical and Rotating Earth
Weighing more at equator
Earth is an inertial reference frame
Explains precession
firing-vertically
Slow spin not fast, so perfectly works (angular speed vs tangential speed)
Bogus vortex model and relative speeds
Orbital spin explains seasons and why they are as long as they are
Orbital inclination and why we do not see eclipses every month
Keplers laws exact predict orbiting earth trajectory, change of speeds, etc.
Cyclonic Rotation: The Direction a Cyclone or Hurricane Rotates
Magnetosphere
Magnetic Field
Compass directions and inclinations
Magnetic Dip South AND NORTH poles!
Schumann resonance
Dynamo therory
Northern Lights
Telluric currents
Fair weather electric field and thunderstorms
Cannot have a magnet with a single pole!! No magnetic monopoles. (and near equator both poles balance)
Geology, weather and engineering
Earthquake research - S and P waves (seismic waves)
Volcanos evidence of spherical earth
Plate tectonics spherical earth
Evidence of pole reversals not possible on flat earth
Water bulge
Jet Stream
Geoid and Altitude above Sea Level
Atmospheric pressure described by spherical earth (grapefruit) - chart flatearth.ws
Presure gradients in planes detect altitude (no barrier needed to check pressure gradients)
Wind and jet streams
Shadow on Clouds
Storm systems described by spinning earth
Friction / Drag of atmosphere
Vaccuum pressure explained vs vaccuum space
Coldness of poles
Antartica expeditions only explained spherical earth.
5.4 degree temperature decrease per 1000 feet elevation
Surveyors need to account for curvature
Suspension bridges account for curvature
Grid Corrections — How the Spherical Figure of the Earth Affects Land Partitioning
Sun - Day/Night and Seasons
Only spherical earth explains exact light/dark
Why exactly half earth is lit
(Visibility of the Sun on a Flat Earth)
Day and Night Areas on a Flat Earth
Determining the Distance to the Sun from the Transit of Venus
Sunset refraction from spherical atmosphere
Seasons perfectly Explained
Equinox challenge perfectly explained
Earth's Shadow (rises when sun sets and sets when sun rises)
Sunset with a Solar filter proves sun same size
'Flat-Earth “Perspective” is not Real-World Perspective' with the SUN
The Direction to the Sun vs the Position of the Sun
Sunset on Mountains
Rayleigh Scattering
Sun Path
The Cities of Punta Arenas, Dunedin, and Murmansk During the December Solstice
The Length of Daytime and Nights in the Flat Earth Model
Midnight Sun in Both Polar Regions Proves Spherical Earth
The Direction of Sunrise and Sunset
Sunset at Burj Khalifa
Synodic Day vs Sidereal Day
Sundial and Gnomon
Shadow Experiments
Sundials
The Eratosthenes Experiment: Proving the Earth is Spherical (3 or more)
Moon
Appearance of the Moon on the Different Locations on Earth
The Orientation of the Moon
Apparent Size of the Moon
Explains why we all see one side of the moon
Explains why we all see the same phase of the moon
The Phase of the Moon and a Ball
Explains tidal locking
Explains lunar eclipses
Explains solar eclipses
Eclipse Prediction
Tide
Explains the Diurnal tide
Explains Semi Dirunal tide
Explains mixed tide
Moon landing orbits
Selenelion and Selenoin eclipse
Earthshine Proves the Moon Obscures the Sun During a Total Solar Eclipse
Planets
Explains Epicycles
Planetary elliptical orbits predict ours
Venus and Mercury Orbits in ecliptic proves earths motion around sun
Explains Ecliptic of planets
Perihelion of mercury
Neptune
Galilean Moons: First Objects Observed to Orbit Another Object
Stars
Diurnal Motion – Possibly the First Evidence of Spherical Earth
Star Trail: Evidence the Earth is a Sphere and Rotating Around Its Axis
Explains why Northern Hemisphere stars...
Explains why Southern Hemisphere stars...
Explains parallax exactly (negative parallax are just statistical uncertainties.
Explains precession and stars slowly changing 26,000 year cycle
Explains why the 12 zodiac constellations appear when they do each time of year at the equator
Outdoor experiment with telecope using notecards for moon and sun
Nautical Almanac
Ursa Minor
Big Dipper
Crux / Southern Cross
Orion
Polaris only seen North of equator
Polaris Altitude and Angle
Steller Parallax
Steller aberration
Doppler Effect
Proper Motion of Stars
Stars Annual Motion
Sextant: Determining Latitude from The Positions of the Stars
Maps, Flights & Expeditions
Flat earth map itself is evidence of a spherical earth (The Gleason Map)
Countries the right size on spherical earth. Southern hemisphere countries too big
Antartica makes sense
Crossing the Continent of Antarctica
Many people have visited the Geographic South Pole
Flights paths take great circles
Flights from Santiago to Sydney ONLY make sense on spherical earth
Artificial Horizon in Planes
Polar circumnavigation
Marine radars
Antipodal Flights (ie Auckland to Madrid)
Emergency Landings
geodetic survey
Vasco Da Gama
Great Circles
(Aside: The Southern Hemisphere: Where Many Flat Earth Claims fall apart).
Satellites and Technology
Axiological Analysis
To travel to space we need to know the earth is a sphere (not that we find out from space)
Satellites orbiting earth only make sense on spherical earth
Satellite Watching
GPS factors in gravity and speed (time dilation due to spherical earth).
Flight Instruments
Planes correct for atmosphere to stay above earth.
Nikola Tesla had his images of earth in his experiments as a sphere
2 Types of Balloon Satellites (regular high alt ballons and actual satellites inflated gas.)
Stanford Linear Accelerator Curvature
michelson-morley experiment
Conspiracy
Too many would have to be in on it.
ISS - 248
Ideas That Lead Flat Earthers Astray
Flat vs Level - Flat Planar surface - Level means same height perpendicular to gravity
Inflation of conflict
False Premise
False Analogy in use of scale (spinning tennis ball, vortexing planets)
Confirmation Bias
Crank Magnetism
Appeal to Minority
Appeal to definition - "theory"
Fallacy of Ad Fidentia
Implicit Attitude
Hyman's maxim
CGI Argument
Reification fallacy
Just asking questions
False balance
Fallacy of hasty generalization
Big Lie
Cognitive dissonance
Red Herring and Deflection
Dunning-Kruger Effect
Far Fetched Hypothesis
Appeal to worse - why spend money on space, feed the poor
Single cause fallacy
Technobabble
Shitting the burden of proof
Appeal to ridicule
Human Sense Nonsense (human senses limited)
Argument from incredulity
Fallacy of proof by example - Existence of balloon satellites prove satellites do not exist (like saying the existence of trucks prove buses do not exist.
Fallacy of argument from authority - real world observations take precedence over anyones words.
NASA Slander - NASA is lying is not a proof though it is a necessary prerequisite for them believing in a Flat earth.
Debunking
Buzz Aldrin's Interview
Mythical Dome
Ice Wall
Bokeh
NASA CGI and Composite Photos
The Philosophy of CGI
Tesla Not Flat Earther
Satires - Lead developer google, fake moon landing, donald trump.
Ball and Water Experiment
Eight Inches per mile squared
Flat-Earth “Perspective” is not Real-World Perspective
High Altitude Balloons Deception
NASA and Other Space Agencies
Proofs of Spherical Earth Presented by Flat-Earthers
Ships Disappearing Over the Horizon and the Various “Explanations” Invented by Flat-Earthers
The so-called “Experiment” Done by Flat-Earthers
Kettle Logic: Conflicting ‘Explanations’ in the Flat-Earth Model
Common Sense: Not a Reliable Indication of Truth
Curvature Calculators and Atmospheric Refraction
The Earth is Spherical and The Mississippi River Never Flows Uphill Anywhere
Zooming in Will Not Reveal More of a Distant Object
Flat-Earthers' laser tests are misleading
Crepuscular Rays
Flat-Earth Ideology and The Fallacy of Lonely Fact
Nikon Coolpix P900 and The Supposedly ‘Real’ Pictures of Venus
Consistency of Photos of the Earth
Fisheye Lenses and Earth Curvature
Sunglint
Moonlight and the Cooling Effect Myth
Physics
Scientific Theory - In the scientific context, an unproven supposition is referred to as a ‘hypothesis’ instead, not a ‘theory.’
Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation
Gravity, weight
Weigthless, free fall microgravity
Shell Theorem
Object retain inertia from earths rotation
The Curvature of the Water Surface
Equipotential: a Property of the Surface of Water
Earth Size and Slow Spin (tangential vs anglular speed) - you do not see it rotating from space for the same reason you do not see your hour hand move.
Inertia and conservation of momentum - Helcopter, drone, ball, atmosphere
(Closed system argument no good, atmosphere moves with earth as air in plane moves with plane)
Human Perception of Speed and Acceleration
Uniform circular motion = uniform linear motion + centripetal acceleration
Vacuum in Space - Gravity pulls in , not normal force like in tanks. Need a force, doesn't have to be a normal force or container.
Drag
Electromagnetism - Gravity cannot be shielded... No form of electromagnetism can explain gravity!
Refraction - Atmosphere is not water and cannot be used to explain aways things flat earthers cannot answer.
Atmospheric Refraction
Flight dynamics models adequate to assume flat and non-rotating earth.
Simulation and Observation
Visibility range and angular resolution
Dizzibs calculator no refraction - Use Metabunks or Walter Bislins
The Elegance of Gravity
Our understanding of gravity explains a phenomenon clearly and directly. It is one idea, easy to understand, explains so many phenomena, can account for a large amount of data, and answers many questions. In other words, we can say that gravity is elegant.
In contrast, each of the different concepts in the flat Earth model requires a separate explanation and often in conflict with each other. We can say it is ugly. It is why flat-Earthers cannot accept that a single idea of gravity can explain so many phenomena.
In the beginning, Newton brought up the idea that everyday things falling down and the motion of planets are actually caused by the same phenomenon that he called gravity. In time, we also know gravity can also explain so many other things and led us to understand things we previously don’t know.
On the other hand, flat-Earthers are so used to inventing new “explanations” for every different phenomenon, which often in conflict with each other. They think that gravity can explain so many things is ridiculous and impossible, and that scientists are just making that up. Flat-Earthers often mention the many things that are explained by gravity to ridicule our position. In reality, gravity can, in fact, explain these things consistently. There is nothing ridiculous about that.
Our understanding of gravity explains a phenomenon clearly and directly. It is one idea, easy to understand, explains so many phenomena, can account for a large amount of data, and answers many questions. In other words, we can say that gravity is elegant.
In contrast, each of the different concepts in the flat Earth model requires a separate explanation and often in conflict with each other. We can say it is ugly. It is why flat-Earthers cannot accept that a single idea of gravity can explain so many phenomena.
In the beginning, Newton brought up the idea that everyday things falling down and the motion of planets are actually caused by the same phenomenon that he called gravity. In time, we also know gravity can also explain so many other things and led us to understand things we previously don’t know.
On the other hand, flat-Earthers are so used to inventing new “explanations” for every different phenomenon, which often in conflict with each other. They think that gravity can explain so many things is ridiculous and impossible, and that scientists are just making that up. Flat-Earthers often mention the many things that are explained by gravity to ridicule our position. In reality, gravity can, in fact, explain these things consistently. There is nothing ridiculous about that.
Flat earth is a belief system (like religion) with many sects.
Flat-Earth communities around the globe are separated by country borders, language barriers, prominent religions, the leading figures, etc. As a result, they form several loosely-knitted but distinct denominations. Because flat-Earth is believed, not based on facts, each of the different factions invents and endorses different sets of “explanations” and talking points. All of them only agree on a single thing, that Earth is flat, but they cannot agree on practically everything else.
For example, some flat earthers invented the so-called ‘universal acceleration’ to ‘explain’ gravity; however, most of the other denominations reject it. The YouTube personalities usually use density and buoyancy to ‘explain’ gravity, and the religious biblical literalist types do not want any ‘explanation’ that involves a moving Earth. The ‘dielectric acceleration’ explanation for gravity is popular in some obscure Spanish-speaking denominations. The ‘Moon should orbit the Sun directly’ talking point is only found in Indonesian-speaking denominations. And using the qibla direction to support flat-Earth is obviously only being discussed in Islamic denominations.
These flat-Earth denominations often wrestle influence from each other. They will even accuse others as impostors and dismiss them as the so-called ‘controlled opposition’ or ‘false flag’; NASA created them to infiltrate the flat-Earth community and discredit the entire community, or similar stories.
Flat-Earth communities around the globe are separated by country borders, language barriers, prominent religions, the leading figures, etc. As a result, they form several loosely-knitted but distinct denominations. Because flat-Earth is believed, not based on facts, each of the different factions invents and endorses different sets of “explanations” and talking points. All of them only agree on a single thing, that Earth is flat, but they cannot agree on practically everything else.
For example, some flat earthers invented the so-called ‘universal acceleration’ to ‘explain’ gravity; however, most of the other denominations reject it. The YouTube personalities usually use density and buoyancy to ‘explain’ gravity, and the religious biblical literalist types do not want any ‘explanation’ that involves a moving Earth. The ‘dielectric acceleration’ explanation for gravity is popular in some obscure Spanish-speaking denominations. The ‘Moon should orbit the Sun directly’ talking point is only found in Indonesian-speaking denominations. And using the qibla direction to support flat-Earth is obviously only being discussed in Islamic denominations.
These flat-Earth denominations often wrestle influence from each other. They will even accuse others as impostors and dismiss them as the so-called ‘controlled opposition’ or ‘false flag’; NASA created them to infiltrate the flat-Earth community and discredit the entire community, or similar stories.
The flat-Earth model survives not because the Earth is flat, but because every time a problem is found, its proponents would quickly invent an ad-hoc hypothesis to explain the problem away. In turn, if they discover another problem in one of these ad-hoc hypotheses, they would be happy to invent another ad-hoc hypothesis to explain the problem away. And so on, and so forth.
These ad-hoc hypotheses are there to save their core belief —that the Earth is flat— from being falsified.
These long chains of ad-hoc hypotheses will eventually reach ad-hoc hypotheses that are unfalsifiable but regarded as true anyway. Usually, these terminal ad-hoc hypotheses are in the form of conspiracy theories, religious beliefs, unconvincing evidence, or logical fallacies.
A theory has falsifiability if there’s a possibility of showing it to be false. Falsifiability is how we distinguish the scientific and the unscientific. The practice of declaring an unfalsifiable theory to be scientifically correct is pseudoscience, which includes the flat-Earth theory.
An Ad-Hoc Hypothesis is not Necessarily False
An ad-hoc hypothesis is not necessarily false. Back then, Einstein invented the cosmological constant to be included in the Theory of General Relativity. It was only a small change but made everything in the theory consistent. After several decades, now we know that the constant is related to the theory of dark energy.
The problem with the flat-Earth model is not the use of ad-hoc hypotheses, but because they would create an ad-hoc hypothesis every time a discrepancy from real-world observation is found. They would not even attempt to prove it. Rather than making the actual experiment or observation, they will be happy to invent just another ad-hoc hypothesis. The first rule of the flat-Earth club is that the Earth is flat. They think it is sacred and would do anything to save it from being falsified, including by inventing multiple, incompatible, and unproven ad-hoc hypotheses.
If the flat-Earth model has such amount of ad-hoc hypotheses, maybe the real problem is with the model itself. Another model —the spherical Earth model— can explain everything elegantly and consistently, without having to defend it by inventing multiple ad-hoc hypotheses.
These ad-hoc hypotheses are there to save their core belief —that the Earth is flat— from being falsified.
These long chains of ad-hoc hypotheses will eventually reach ad-hoc hypotheses that are unfalsifiable but regarded as true anyway. Usually, these terminal ad-hoc hypotheses are in the form of conspiracy theories, religious beliefs, unconvincing evidence, or logical fallacies.
A theory has falsifiability if there’s a possibility of showing it to be false. Falsifiability is how we distinguish the scientific and the unscientific. The practice of declaring an unfalsifiable theory to be scientifically correct is pseudoscience, which includes the flat-Earth theory.
An Ad-Hoc Hypothesis is not Necessarily False
An ad-hoc hypothesis is not necessarily false. Back then, Einstein invented the cosmological constant to be included in the Theory of General Relativity. It was only a small change but made everything in the theory consistent. After several decades, now we know that the constant is related to the theory of dark energy.
The problem with the flat-Earth model is not the use of ad-hoc hypotheses, but because they would create an ad-hoc hypothesis every time a discrepancy from real-world observation is found. They would not even attempt to prove it. Rather than making the actual experiment or observation, they will be happy to invent just another ad-hoc hypothesis. The first rule of the flat-Earth club is that the Earth is flat. They think it is sacred and would do anything to save it from being falsified, including by inventing multiple, incompatible, and unproven ad-hoc hypotheses.
If the flat-Earth model has such amount of ad-hoc hypotheses, maybe the real problem is with the model itself. Another model —the spherical Earth model— can explain everything elegantly and consistently, without having to defend it by inventing multiple ad-hoc hypotheses.
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Due to Earth’s curvature, ships traveling over an ocean disappear from the bottom up. This fact is one of the first evidence to confirm the Earth is a sphere, and one of the first facts of which flat-Earthers had to invent various “explanations” for.
Flat-Earthers like to demonstrate that a previously invisible ship at a distance can be made visible by zooming in. They Love to Take Their Nikon P900 or P1000 cameras and say that they can 'pull back" a boat that has disappeared. 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.
If a distant boat is not visible, then it is because of at least one of these reasons:
Our eyesight does not have sufficient angular resolution to recognize the distant boat. Zooming in improves angular resolution, and reveals the boat.
It is the same reason germs on our hands are not visible although they are right in front of our eyes. A microscope improves angular resolution and can reveal them.
Zooming in cannot overcome the limited visibility imposed by Earth’s atmosphere, and will never see through the completely opaque barrier in the form of the curvature of the Earth.
If the ship is already behind the curvature of the Earth, then no amount of zoom can make the vessel reappear.
Flat-Earthers like to demonstrate that a previously invisible ship at a distance can be made visible by zooming in. They Love to Take Their Nikon P900 or P1000 cameras and say that they can 'pull back" a boat that has disappeared. 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.
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.
Our eyesight does not have sufficient angular resolution to recognize the distant boat. Zooming in improves angular resolution, and reveals the boat.
It is the same reason germs on our hands are not visible although they are right in front of our eyes. A microscope improves angular resolution and can reveal them.
Zooming in cannot overcome the limited visibility imposed by Earth’s atmosphere, and will never see through the completely opaque barrier in the form of the curvature of the Earth.
If the ship is already behind the curvature of the Earth, then no amount of zoom can make the vessel reappear.