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    Proof of Earth's Shape

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    Vinayaka Ram
    The document discusses evidence that proves the Earth is spherical in shape. It notes that ships appear to gradually sink below the horizon from bottom up as they travel away, and the North Star changes altitude with latitude at all longitudes. Lunar eclipses also show the Earth's shadow is always round. While roughly spherical, the Earth is actually an oblate spheroid, flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator due to rotation. Gravity measurements and satellite imagery provide further evidence of its oblate shape rather than being perfectly spherical.

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    Proof of Earth's Shape

    Uploaded by

    Vinayaka Ram
    223 views15 pages
    The document discusses evidence that proves the Earth is spherical in shape. It notes that ships appear to gradually sink below the horizon from bottom up as they travel away, and the North Star changes altitude with latitude at all longitudes. Lunar eclipses also show the Earth's shadow is always round. While roughly spherical, the Earth is actually an oblate spheroid, flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator due to rotation. Gravity measurements and satellite imagery provide further evidence of its oblate shape rather than being perfectly spherical.

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    The document discusses evidence that proves the Earth is spherical in shape. It notes that ships appear to gradually sink below the horizon from bottom up as they travel away, and the North Star changes altitude with latitude at all longitudes. Lunar eclipses also show the Earth's shadow is always round. While roughly spherical, the Earth is actually an oblate spheroid, flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator due to rotation. Gravity measurements and satellite imagery provide further evidence of its oblate shape rather than being perfectly spherical.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    223 views15 pages

    Proof of Earth's Shape

    Uploaded by

    Vinayaka Ram
    The document discusses evidence that proves the Earth is spherical in shape. It notes that ships appear to gradually sink below the horizon from bottom up as they travel away, and the North Star changes altitude with latitude at all longitudes. Lunar eclipses also show the Earth's shadow is always round. While roughly spherical, the Earth is actually an oblate spheroid, flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator due to rotation. Gravity measurements and satellite imagery provide further evidence of its oblate shape rather than being perfectly spherical.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    of 15

    SHAPE OF THE EARTH

    V Vinayaka Ram

    WHAT IS EARTHS SHAPE?


    Initial

    Days of Understanding

    Is it flat like a coin


    Spherical like a ball?
    Like a tin can
    flat on the ends and round in the middle?

    Spherical Earth?
    Scientists

    claim that Earth is much like


    a slightly flattened ball - an oblate
    spheroid.
    How do they know or do the merely have
    faith in the claim?
    What is the evidence that supports a
    scientific belief in a roughly spherical
    Earth?

    Ships appear to sink gradually


    below horizon from bottom up.

    Polaris, the
    North Star

    is located practically
    over the North Pole
    of planet Earth.

    If you stood at the


    North Pole, Polaris
    would be almost
    directly overhead.

    Polaris

    Why do observations of Polaris


    help determine Earths shape?
    The

    North Star gradually appears lower


    and lower in the sky as you travel
    toward the equator.
    When the North Star is visible at the
    horizon, you are located at the equator.
    South of the equator the North Star is
    not visible at all.
    These observations are possible only for
    a roughly spherical Earth.

    Lunar Eclipses
    Only

    a sphere can cast a shadow that


    always appears round. During lunar
    eclipses, Earth casts its shadow on the
    moon and the shadow is always round.

    Many other indications


    Circumnavigation

    of the globe.
    Existence of time zones.
    Earth-orbiting satellites.
    Photographs from space.
    Eyewitness reports of
    astronauts.
    Other objects - sun, moon, planets - are
    roughly spherical.

    Summary: How do we know


    the Earth to be spherical?

    Ships appear to sink GRADUALLY below the


    horizon as they travel away from observer and
    over the horizon - in all directions.
    Polaris (North Star) changes altitude (angle
    measured in degrees above earths surface)
    with latitude at all longitudes.
    Lunar Eclipses - Earths shadow on the moon is
    always round.
    Satellite imagery and much more.

    Is Earth perfectly spherical?


    The

    Earth is NOT a perfect sphere


    It is flattened at the poles and bulges
    at the equator due to its spinning.
    Earth is very slightly out of round or
    OBLATE.
    Saturn is an even
    better example
    of being oblate.

    What proof is there that the


    Earth is slightly oblate?

    Gravity measurements. Gravity is the force of


    attraction between any two objects.
    Increase mass of objects = increase gravity
    Decrease distances = increase gravity

    If Earth were a perfect sphere, it would be


    expected to exert an equal force on objects at
    equal distances from the center of earth.

    The pull of gravity is weaker


    farther from the center of Earth

    You weigh just a bit less at the equator than at the pole!

    The Oblate Sphere


    The

    difference with a sphere is small


    We can not see it with the naked eye
    Earth still appears like a sphere

    Why is Earth not perfectly round?


    Earths

    spinning (rotation) causes

    bulging at equator and


    flattening at the poles.

    Be

    careful on multiple-choice tests!

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