One of the most common rebuttals to people who believe the Earth is flat (aside from the countless experiments, equations of gravitation, camera and satellite footage, Einstein’s theory of relativity and time dilation, insert pretty much endless evidence here) is that one can observe the curvature of the planet from a passenger airplane at cruising altitude. But is that true?
Well, sort of. Here’s what that means.
Starting On The Ground
One of the ways the ancient Greeks concluded the Earth is spherical was by observing ships on a horizon. Boats moving away from an observer on the beach disappear – with the appearance that they are sinking into the sea. This illusion happens because the ship is moving further along the curve of the Earth. (Tape a box of matches to a beach ball, put it close to your face, then rotate it for a miniature version.)
We have several components of an equation, courtesy astrophysicist David Lynch, that can be used to calculate the curvature of the Earth. By measuring how much of the boat falls below the horizon based on the distance from the observer at sea level, the radius of our planet can be calculated. Alternatively, if we take the radius of Earth for granted (and trust what’s already been proven) we can also determine the Earth’s radius.
- The entire formula can be seen here.
In short, the higher in altitude you are, the further you can see – a direct result of you moving up and the horizon of the Earth being lower in relation to you.
As DrGC describes the following image:
“Cartoon defining the variables used above. d is the distance of visibility, h is the elevation of the observer O above the sea level.”
Plug in the numbers and at 10,000 meters (~35,000 feet) the horizon of the Earth will appear 3 degrees lower than at sea level (remember the ship falling below the horizon above).
Seeing any observable curvature from a plane is difficult for several reasons:
- Airplane windows distort light coming into the plane, in other words, they add a curvature effect not too unlike a wide-angle lens.
- Using the formulas above, you would need a roughly 60 degree field of view to see any curvature – a standard passenger window doesn’t isn’t enough.
- A clear sky over the ocean is a must. The figure below illustrates why a plane just isn’t high enough for a clear curved view.
Relative to the Earth’s size, you’re not really all that high up. Fortunately there are lots of experiments you can do from the ground to prove the Earth is round shown in the video below.
Or just send up a camera on a weather balloon.
Finally, if you want to do more aerial mathematics, here’s how to calculate the angle at which your plane turns on its side or the angle up during takeoff.
My pal said he saw curvature of the earth when he was on a plane. I told him that I wasn’t to sure. Thanks for the window eluaiosion. That’s prolly what he saw. 😊
On a regular commercial jet, most likely!
From your point of viewing on or above the Earth, No matter how high you get, you will only be able to view the circular horizon which will be equal for all 360 degrees.
Thanks for using my illustration! (Why it’s hard to see the curvature of the earth from 37,000 ft).
I made it in Excel in 2016. If you want to discuss giving me credit, you can email me at the address below.
If not, I don’t mind – I appreciate the fact that you found it useful, and hopefully it will show how tiny the altitude of a jetliner is compared – in actual scale – to the size of the earth.
I don’t think I ever uploaded this illustration to Wikimedia Commons – so I’m curious – where did you find it?
Cheers,
Jim Slater
Hi Jim, I pulled it from the linked Stack Exchange to highlight the point and appreciate you getting in touch. I’m happy to link the proper credit, I’ll send you an email, thanks again.
Thanks Anil, I had forgotten that I posted in image in Stack Exchange (https://i.stack.imgur.com/Mxsv1.jpg)
and for the email. I decided I should also properly register the image in Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earth%27s_curvature_from_37,000_ft_%2B_ISS.jpg)
Thanks! I’ve updated the article as well 🙂
when earth is eclipsed by the sun showing earth’s shadow on the moon then why is that shadow on the moon round and not flat or straight
Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and spokesman for NASA says that we would definitely NOT see any supposed Earth Curve from a plane – you would need to be at least 50 miles high. A passenger plane cruises at about 7 miles altitude. Of course, you would never see any Earth curvature anyway because our Earth is flat!
“Well sort of” This really means, absolutely not. Why would Neil DeGrasse Tyson lie when he is one of the heliocentric priests.
The height you need is entirely based on how much of the horizon you’re viewing. It’ll be different with naked eye vs wide-angle camera. And no, wide-angle lenses don’t bend straight lines, they’re rectilinear. In fact, modern digital cameras even correct for any tiny bit of barrel distortion you might get from a lower-quality wide angle lens.
Even if they did not, such lens distortion — as in a fisheye lens, which is not rectilinear — bends the image up, not down, when below the central axis of the lens, down when above, and not at all in the center. So any photo that’s showing a curved earth below the central axis is not curved due to lens distortion.