Shape of the Earth

How a scientific proof works.

 Spherical Earth?
■ Scientists claim that Earth is much like
a slightly flattened ball - an oblate
spheroid.
Ships appear to sink gradually below horizon
from bottom up.
 Polaris
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.
Why do observations of Polaris help determine
Earth’s 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 earth’s surface) with
latitude – at all longitudes.
■ Lunar Eclipses - Earth’s 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?
■ Earth’s spinning (rotation) causes…
– bulging at equator and
– flattening at the poles.