Earth: Spherical vs Flat

I thank Edlvsjd for accepting my challenge and wish him good luck in the following rounds. The Horizon As my opponent mentioned in the previous round, there is a round-earth argument that ships, as they sail away from a person’s perspective, help prove that the Earth is a globe. He seems to be under the impression that this is so easily discredited that it would be a waste of my time to mention it in this debate; however, I beg to differ as the best refutations I could find after months of spending time with flat earthers on the internet are easily dismissed. So, I shall allow my opponent to formulate his own response. The argument goes as such: Go to the beach and watch a ship sail away from you. It will appear to sink into the horizon as you watch it go; this is impossible in a flat earth model as it indicates a curvature to the earth. Not only do ships seem to sink, but if they are far enough and sail parallel to the shore, the bottom of the ship would seem to have sunk into the water. Not only have I seen this effect personally, but so have many others; this is how people knew the earth was round since ancient periods: no citation needed. This argument also goes for movement of the sun, stars and moon which all rise in the east and sink back into the horizon in the west. This is only possible on a globe. That is, in the flat earth model, the sun is about 2000 miles above the earth(1) and rotates around creating the effect of night and day in such a manner: s://lh5.googleusercontent.com...; alt="" width="224" height="224" /> However, if the sun is a set distance above the Earth, then the Sun would appear in the East above the horizon, cross the sky, instead of arcing over the sky, and disappear in the West over the horizon in a matter such as airplanes. The Coriolis Effect A force on earth that deflects the longitudinal movement of an object upon a rotating object. On Earth, such objects or forces, such as water or air currents moving from the equator to either pole, are deflected latitudinally, or parallel with the equator. Such movement is apparent when observing these currents, the movement of missiles, and the spin of weather systems such as hurricanes and cyclones. s://lh3.googleusercontent.com...; alt="" width="291" height="241" /> Movements are deflected to the right in the Northern hemisphere and to the left in the South. The best way to observe this within your own home is to observe water draining down a pipe. It drains counterclockwise if you are in the Northern hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern hemisphere. More info and a better explanation of the Coriolis effect can be found in the sources. This movement as it exists on our planet is impossible on the Flat Earth model, most apparently because of the disparity between the Northern and Southern hemispheres but also because the Flat Earth is not claimed to rotate. Photos There have been numerous photographs taken of Earth from outside of the atmosphere, where the entire Earth is visible and therefore so is the shape. Of course this evidence is rather flimsy as they could’ve easily been forged, but this then raises the question of why? Why would every person and organization that has ever escaped the atmosphere have lied and forged evidence? This first included the Soviet space program, then NASA and now includes many private organizations, private citizens and other government programs of other governments. Lateral movement If we indeed lived upon the flat earth model as my opponent says, and we faced true North, toward the middle of the Arctic circle, then traveled West in a straight line, we would eventually reach Antarctica. However, in reality, if we were to face true North and move West in a straight line, we would eventually reach the same position. Here is a diagram: s://lh6.googleusercontent.com...; alt="Screenshot 2016-07-21 at 11.22.08 AM.png" width="200" height="189" /> Sources: (1): https://wiki.tfes.org... Coriolis effect: https://stratus.ssec.wisc.edu...