The earth is a sphere. Best of 2 format.

It seems that Con has chosen to make one argument, which is completely fine. I trust that the opponent will be expanding on his argument, as well as combatting mine, in the next round. To my opponent: The rules of this debate include the requirement of hitting 4,000 characters per round (after round 1). A brief glance at your debate record shows you generally post rather abbreviated arguments. Since you accepted this debate, and therefore the terms of this debate, I expect that you'll be up to the task of offering a sufficiently detailed response. Overview First, I'll be addressing the opponent's argument. Following this, I will present my own. Opponent's Argument The opponent claims that the earth is not round because, "due to its rotation, it's round shape changes". In abroad sense, this is true. The earth's rotation is such that the earth "bulges" somewhat at the center. Indeed the earth is not a perfect sphere. As I clearly laid out in the "Last Minute Clarifications" section of my opening statement, I'm not arguing that the earth is a perfect sphere, but instead that the earth is spheroid in shape. For those interested, a spheroid is a "solid geometrical figure similar in shape to a sphere, as an ellipsoid". [1] In other words, I am arguing that the earth is very near the shape of a sphere. The earth bulges slightly at the equator due to the planet's rotation. [2] Specifically, this bulge is approximately 26.5 miles high, which is to say that Earth's diameter across the equatorial plane is 7,927 miles, whereas the diameter when measured between the poles is 7,900 miles. I argue that this is spheroid in shape, as the two measurements differ by about a third of a percent (0.34%). If you had two globes, one modeled in such a way that it includes the equatorial bulge and the other a perfect sphere, it is unlikely that you would be able to tell the difference via inspection. This is about a spheroid as one can get. To summarize, the opponent points out that the earth is not perfectly spherical, but instead is only mostly spherical. This is exactly what *I'm* supposed to be claiming is true, so the opponent may need to tune this argument a little. My Arguments Argument 1: Satellite Imagery This argument is one of the most important arguments when talking about the shape of the earth and, as such, it is often ignored. The argument is simple: There is a significant amount of satellite imagery of the earth, many of which demonstrate curvature. For instance, in this [3] gallery we see many images which clearly demonstrate the curvature of the earth. When one composites these images together, one sees that the Earth is spherical in shape. Multiple satellites have accomplished this from various positions in space, indicating that the Earth is "flat and circular" (when seen from the proper viewpoint), but instead is spherical. A look at any one of the composite images of earth or the few non-composite images of the whole earth shows that the earth isn't extremely elliptical, but instead *appears* to be a sphere. More can be said about this if needed. I imagine this won't be as talked about in a debate that isn't "round earth" v. "flat earth". I'm not going to present a second argument here and will only do so if needed. If I determine it is needed, it will be in the second or third round. Summary We saw that the opponent's argument seemed to be one in favor of the Pro (my) position. I agreed with (a broad interpretation) of his argument and clarified that despite the equatorial bulge, Earth is very much a spheroid. In my opening statement, I was very clear that I would be arguing that Earth is spheroid in shape, not that Earth is perfectly spherical. I then argued that the litany of satellite imagery demonstrates Earth's spheroidal shape as well. As it stands, the opponent and I have both presented an argument, and both arguments seem to imply my claim is correct. I look forward to my opponent's response and further clarification. Thanks. Sources: [1] - . http://www.dictionary.com... [2] - . http://www.cleonis.nl... [3] - . https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov...