Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
611/612
Topics we will cover
• Earth measurements and characteristics
• Development of solar system model
• History of Earth ideas
• Measurements of the ancients
• Notable characteristics of bodies in our solar system
The Universe is Big
Let’s get an idea scale…
◦https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEheh1BH34Q
The Earth
So let’s start somewhere familiar…
Objectives: Part One
• To assess early interpretations of the Earth
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Visualisation
• The closer you get, the less you see of the whole
Visualisation
• Getting higher up will reveal parts hidden due to curvature
Earth’s Curvature – Rule of Thumb
• “For every mile, you drop 8 inches from the horizontal”
• Note: This only works as an estimation
Earth’s Curvature – Visualisation
• If we look out at sea, the horizon is about 3 miles away (from eye level)
• Roughly half a metre of ‘drop’
How Much Curvature is Visible?
Commercial flight (10km up)
• Not Distinguishable
How Much is Visible?
ISS space station (400km up)
Side Video – Sleeping in Space
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyFYgeE32f0
Side Note – Group Task
Being in space may not be fun. Why?
Space travel
• Like being in a submarine
• Astronauts lose 1% to 2% of their bone mineral density every month
• Muscles atrophy
How Much is Visible?
You have to get very high up!
Time Zones – Support Spherical Earth
• Midday in Bangkok = Midnight in Kansas, USA
• Can’t be explained by a ‘spotlight’ sun
Earth Dimensions and Properties
Let’s move away from the Flat Earth stuff….
Important Note!
• We’ve only discussed whether the Earth is a sphere/flat
• Geocentrism vs Heliocentrism- coming soon
Objectives: Part Two
• To look at how the ancients calculated the size of the Earth
Eratosthenes: 276–195 BC
Eratosthenes Profile – Part One
• Born in Cyrene, Ancient Greece (now Libya)
• ≈2200 years ago
• Chief librarian of Library of Alexandria, Egypt ≈ 236 BC
• Invented Geography?
Eratosthenes Profile – Part Two
• Librarian, geographer, mathematician, astronomer, historian, and poet
• “Sieve of Eratosthenes” system for identifying prime numbers
• Most famous for calculating Earth’s Circumference