The notion that the Earth is flat continues to endure among conspiracy theorists, despite extensive evidence proving otherwise.
Online spaces like chat rooms and Reddit threads are filled with assertions and alleged proof attempting to challenge the consensus of scientists and astronomers. Advocates of this theory often cite daylight savings, the horizon, and perspectives from airplane windows as supposed evidence for their beliefs.
For centuries, the truth about Earth’s shape has been established, with the Greek philosopher Pythagoras proposing the idea that Earth was spherical even before his death in 495 B.C.
Despite ongoing debates, one astronaut took a direct approach to address this misconception when he had a unique vantage point of Earth.
While in space, the astronaut captured footage of himself among the stars. With a simple flip of his camera, he effectively dispelled the Flat Earth theory by showcasing our planet, brilliantly illuminated and unmistakably spherical.
The clip was posted on the TikTok account @spacemanedu with the caption: “Someone Said Earth Was Flat…”, and it quickly garnered over six million likes.
@spacemanedu Someone Said Earth Was Flat… #space #fyp #viral #spacemanedu #astonaut #fy #flatearth
Numerous astronauts have publicly debunked the Flat Earth theory after witnessing Earth’s curvature firsthand. Many united in 2017 when Atlanta-based rapper B.o.B. cast doubt on the planet’s shape and initiated a fundraiser to launch a satellite for his own investigation.
NASA astronaut Terry Virts addressed B.o.B’s skepticism on Twitter, stating: “I can save BoB a lot of money — the Earth is round. I flew around it.”
Buzz Aldrin, the second human to walk on the moon, supported Virts’ statement by writing: “I did too. It’s called an orbit: the curved path of a celestial object around a star, planet, or moon.”
Astronaut Scott Kelly further contributed by sharing a time-lapse video of Earth from the International Space Station, captioning it: “Show you the curve? Here you go @bobatl! One full orbit around Earth. Maybe donate funds raised to #PuertoRicoRelief.”
One can only hope that this wealth of evidence might eventually persuade those who continue to harbor doubts, although there will always be individuals unwilling to accept the truth.