Conspiracy theories about flat Earth
It’s simply the edge of an ice platform, and it’s very high and impressive indeed.
The Sun and Moon are local and revolve above the flat Earth
Calculating the distance from the Earth to the Sun using the transit of Venus
We have long known how to calculate the distances between the Earth and the Moon or the Earth and the Sun, which excludes the fact that the Sun and Moon are in the Earth’s sky…
What is a transit of Venus?
A transit of Venus occurs when Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun, appearing as a small black dot that crosses the solar disc. Using the parallax phenomenon, it is possible to calculate the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
What is the parallax effect?
Parallax is the apparent displacement of an object as seen from two different positions. An excellent way of understanding the phenomenon is to hold a finger in front of your eyes and then close one eye, then the other: you’ll see that your finger appears to move in relation to the background. This is the parallax effect.
In astronomy, parallax is used to measure distances: if we observe Venus from two very distant points on Earth, it will appear to pass on slightly different trajectories in front of the Sun.
How can parallax be used to calculate the distance between the Earth and the Sun?
Here’s how to calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun using the parallax effect:
a) Observing the transit from several points
Astronomers are placed at different locations on Earth, often very far apart (for example, one in Europe, the other in Australia). They precisely time the start and end of Venus’s transit in front of the Sun.
b) Measuring the differences
Depending on where you are observing from, the path followed by Venus on the solar disc appears to be different. This difference is due to parallax and depends on the distance between the two observation points on Earth.
c) Create a giant triangle
We know that the distance between the two observation points on Earth forms the base of a triangle. The angles of this triangle are deduced from the apparent position of Venus as seen from each point. Using simple trigonometric calculations (trigonometry is a branch of mathematics that studies the relationships between the angles and sides of triangles), we can then deduce the distance from Earth to Venus.
d) Relating the distance from Earth to Venus to the distance from Earth to the Sun
The Earth-Sun distance (known as the astronomical unit, or AU) is proportional to the Earth-Venus distance. These proportions are known thanks to Kepler’s laws of planetary motion. Once we know the Earth-Venus distance, all we have to do is apply it to the scale of the solar system.
You will find an extremely detailed explanation of the transit of Venus and the calculation of the distance between the Earth and the Sun in this article :
(Copie of the article : https://web.archive.org/web/20240911042637/https://profmattstrassler.com/articles-and-posts/relativity-space-astronomy-and-cosmology/transit-of-venus-and-the-distance-to-the-sun/)
Conflicting observations
If the Moon and Sun rotated above a flat Earth, then it would be possible to see the Moon and Sun at the same time from anywhere on Earth and at any time of day. However, this is not the case: the Moon and Sun are only visible at the same time at specific times or specific points on the globe.
Moon phases and eclipses are also impossible in such a model.
The Sun and Moon are flat
This hypothesis also contradicts the points made in the previous chapter. Having said that, if the Sun and Moon were flat, we would only see them as a disc when they are directly above us, and when they move away, we would see an ellipse. But this is not the case.
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