The Earth is mostly spherical.

I appreciate my opponents scepticism and would like to point out that this is the reason we have science, that is to observe things around us in order to see the true nature of our surroundings. Modern science is more dogma orientated, things aren't actually being discovered anymore, they are theorized. We have explored only a fraction of our own oceans, yet we claim to have explored the farthest reaches of "space". My opponent has dropped only one argument so far: star trails . 1. Distances sighted "In the video provided, we see that the skyline flits in and out of existence, despite the weather remaining nominal. If this were not a mirage, the image should not appear, disappear and reappear again in the manner that it does." My opponent may have to turn the brightness up on the computer he watches the time lapse on. While not very clear early in the video, it is still visible as a silhouette. This is due to the moisture that is present in the air everywhere at this time of the day. Not once in the whole time lapse is the image of Chicago inverted, which is the most common of the properties of a mirage. Once again, the type of mirage that the mainstream has labeled this as is supposedly a rare occurrence. If it can be seen all day, it isn't a rare occurrence. I'm left with nothing left to do but use a mainstream source. http://www.slideshare.net... There are two types of mirages. Inferior mirages and superior mirages. As you can see from the left photo, the mirage is inverted, and directly above the landmass. Similar to a mirror suspended over the island. You'll notice a definite line across, this inverted image is sometimes magnified. The inferior mirage is an image produced underneath the object. this car is not over any curvature, the road has just turned into a mirror due to the temperatures. On a clear evening, you can see Chicago, this is not a mirage. Sometimes, on rare occurrences, the atmospheric conditions might be just right, and the picture you have provided will happen, which is a mirage, that is inverted. Reflections of light on water "Subtle stretching is exactly what one would expect to see from a reflection occurring on a slightly convex surface" This statement is false, unless the "one" was unfamiliar with a spoon. Concave mirrors stretch, and convex mirrors shrink, however, when close enough to the flat or concave reflections, both will stretch, as I have demonstrated, which anyone can do with any reflective, flexible material. Flight paths My opponent holds that all flights from the two points mentioned go 5,000 miles in the wrong direction to fill up the plane, and pick up more passengers. Where my opponent gets this information from is a mystery. Surely some of these flights would be full enough not to have to cause the inconvenience of a flight that takes twice as long, and burn another tank of gas to... save money... right. Please provide a source for the claim: "you can get three to four times as many passengers by travelling the extra distance, meaning that you can get significantly more profit. " Gyroscopes Thanks to my opponent for his explanation of the difference between earth gyros and space gyros. It seems the training manual got entirely ignored though. While searching for "pendulous rod " I could find very little, (an old Google book was it) and my opponents source is a dead link. Without being able to further investigate this, I can't a assume this information is correct. There are many experiments going on right now since this information was released, none have the illusive "pendulous rod " my opponent has served as an excuse. These experiments involve a basic electronic gyroscope that should, if the earth were spinning, rotate against this alleged spin. No movement at all has been seen so far. Satellites ISS tracking My opponent agrees that ISS tracking sites are nothing more than preset data, tracking nothing at all. What happens when the ISS has to change it's course due to the several thousands of satellites and space junk in orbit with it. A grain of sand, travelling at 17,000 miles per hour would be devastating to any of the delicate solar panels Etc. on the ISS. U2 spyplanes The pictures my opponent provides does not appear to be a solid object, and while still slightly visible, the plane is reflecting little light, and the holographic image is overcoming that light. Compare these images: http://www.space.com...:* http://alpo-j.asahikawa-med.ac.jp... http://www.billboard.com... ISS is too far to see. My opponent offers a fairly weak rebuttal about distances, whereas his math is a bit off. If a plane flies about 7 miles away from the earth and the ISS is about 250 miles up, this is about 36 times the distance. So even taking into account my opponents baseless claim, it would be at least 20 times smaller, and invisible from the ground. As we see from Mr Nowicki's photos, an entire city looks like one from the micro-machine's collection, from only 60 miles away. The ISS is roughly the size of a 747, which is roughly the size of a football field. Thermosphere My opponent (and modern science) claims that radiators keep the entire ISS from melting! This is ridiculous if we know exactly how a radiator functions. Radiators take the warmer air and transfer that to water or some other liquid. This liquid is then ran through metal fins or the like, which is then transferred to the surrounding air molecules as it passes through the fins. Since the surrounding atmosphere is very thin, and 2,000 degrees, this makes a radiator pretty much useless. Solar panels, which are made of mostly silicate would be melted, as would anything else that is on the exterior. The 2nd law of thermodynamics, when simply put, states that heat moves to cold, which is why radiators work in cars, the air flowing through the fins is colder that the fins. So basically, especially over 18 years, every hot molecule of air that came close to the ISS would be attracted to the supposedly cooler ISS, or any of the many thousands of satellites in orbit around the earth. Satellites were first dreamed up by high level Freemason science fiction writer Satanist pedophile Arthur c. Clarke, and later, the idea was implemented into the system. Cell towers... "Cellular service only uses towers. Satellite phones use satellites." Why? If sat phones are reliable everywhere, why not abandon towers altogether? " They would not be able to function without satellites (like how they can function in the middle of the ocean.)" How do you know how reliable satphones are in the middle of an ocean? Cruise ships offer cellphone service because they have cell towers built in. They could serve as relays for satphones. Granted they wouldn't be as reliable, but no sat phone can be called reliable at sea either. Furthermore, the radiowaves used by phones travel in straight lines (unable to travel around the curvature of a globe). Signals can also be bounced from the firmament that I discussed in our previous debate. Aerospace textbooks "any voter could easily see how the basic pillars upon which aerospace is taught assume a spherical earth. " Where? How can we "easily" see this? "The opponent basically says next that launched satellites actually go into the Bermuda Triangle. This is one of the few points I will not entertain without evidence or logic to support it. The claim is ludicrous and needs to be proved or it will continue to be considered ludicrous. " The proof is in the arching trajectory picture I provided earlier. Of course it's ludicrous, even questioning the shape of the earth is ludicrous, yet here I am, proving it. It is not necessary for me to prove that rockets only go far enough away and fall into the ocean. This is meant to be an alternative to rockets "smacking into the side of a flat earth". Since I have proved the earth is flat once already, this proves itself. Time zones I have offered evidence, yet it is largely ignored. Do you have valid evidence of it being 93,000,000 miles away? "This is why winters have longer nights -- less sun is received. " Does that mean the earth slows it's rotation in the winter? "The next claim is that the sun shrinks when heading toward the horizon. The only evidence for this is a video. Please note that it is impossible to "eyeball" the actual size of the sun during the day, since it is so bright that lens flare (eye lens) can look like part of the sun." Which is why I offered videos where the flare can be reduced, namely, a solar filter. None of these videos are "eyeballing" anything. https://youtu.be... " As the sun sets, you see less of its light (since it is largely being absorbed by the atmosphere), reducing the lens flare and leading one to see the actual boundaries of the sun." I also offer proof of the sun shrinking during the sunsets. https://youtu.be... Conclusion I've demonstrated the flaws in the opponent's case and corrected his misunderstanding regarding my own. I look forward to the next round. I hope my opponent is having as much fun as I.