It’s hard to argue with the view from space
No matter how much evidence has been provided to the contrary, the idea that the Earth is flat is one that stubbornly persists among conspiracy theorists.
Chat rooms and Reddit threads are buzzing with claims and supposed evidence that aim to prove that scientists and astronomers have it all wrong. Enthusiasts point to things like daylight savings, the horizon, and views from airplane windows to bolster their theories.
However, the reality about Earth’s shape has been known for centuries. As far back as 495 B.C., the Greek philosopher Pythagoras was already speculating that the Earth was spherical, long before modern science confirmed it.
The debate rages on, but one astronaut decided to put the Flat Earth theory to rest once and for all—straight from space.
While floating among the stars, as astronauts do, he filmed himself in zero gravity. Then, with a quick flip of his camera, he captured a breathtaking view of Earth, glowing brightly and undeniably spherical before his eyes. The video, shared on the TikTok page @spacemanedu with the caption “Someone Said Earth Was Flat…”, quickly went viral, racking up over six million likes.
Over the years, multiple astronauts have stepped forward to debunk the Flat Earth theory, sharing their firsthand experiences of seeing the globe’s true shape from space. One notable moment came in 2017 when Atlanta-based rapper B.o.B. sparked controversy by questioning the planet’s shape and even launching a fundraiser to build a satellite to prove it. In response, NASA astronaut Terry Virts took to Twitter to put B.o.B’s doubts to rest, writing: “I can save BoB a lot of money — the Earth is round. I flew around it.”
Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon, backed up Virts’ tweet, saying: “I did too. It’s called an orbit: the curved path of a celestial object around a star, planet, or moon.” Fellow astronaut Scott Kelly took things a step further by sharing a time-lapse video of the Earth from the International Space Station.
Alongside the video, he wrote: “Show you the curve? Here you go @bobatl! One full orbit around Earth. Maybe donate funds raised to #PuertoRicoRelief.”
Despite all this compelling evidence, some remain determined to hold on to their doubts. It’s a curious thing—no matter how much proof is presented, there’s always someone out there refusing to believe!
