Why Do We Keep Seeing a Perfectly Round Earth in Images?
Asked by
curiousExplorer88
I've noticed that NASA continues to show us images of Earth that look perfectly round and smooth, especially with the recent photos from the Artemis mission. But the reality is that Earth isn't perfectly spherical; it's actually slightly irregular. So, I'm curious why they maintain this aesthetic in their imagery. Is there a reason for this, or am I missing something? I'm open to any clarifications or insights, thanks!
Answers
You know, it’s interesting to think about. Some people argue that Earth could be both flat and round, like we exist in a tesseract or higher dimension. It's a wild theory, but I can see where they’re coming from.
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The Earth's shape is actually an oblate spheroid, which means it's slightly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator. The deviation from a perfect sphere is about 0.3%, which, on a standard 1280x1080 monitor, translates to around 4-5 pixels difference. So, while those images look perfect, they aren't that far off from reality.
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What I find odd is that these images don't show any satellites. With over 10,000 active satellites orbiting Earth, you'd expect some signs of them in these pictures. Some people think they should make a massive mess up there, not just a pretty blue planet! But I guess satellites are too small to see on those distance shots.
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Honestly, the shape is a bit complex. A geoid, for instance, is like an idealized shape where the ocean surface would settle if it were undisturbed, only influenced by Earth's gravity. But it’s pretty clear that Earth is not completely spherical; it’s constantly being influenced by many factors.
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