Earlier this year, a flat-Earther launched a ballistic rocket to observe Earth from altitude. If it were indeed flat and shaped like a frisbee, what would his ballistic path look like if he launched near the disc edge and aimed towards the edge? Would it be a parabolic arc or something else?
鈥� If Earth were indeed flat and frisbee-shaped (and dry), we would visually perceive it from the centre of the disc as a huge flat plain. As we tried to walk towards the edge, the gravitational pull of the centre increases, meaning our bodies would have to lean ever more steeply away from it, until at the very edge we would feel as if we were climbing fly-like up an almost vertical slope. Assuming we could make it this far, we could go over the rim and slide down the (visually flat) terrain the other side to whatever flat-Earthers say lies on the flip side of our planet.
Add in significant quantities of liquid water, and gravity would pull it all to the middle and a water-dome would seem to rise from the centre. As we walked away from it we would have the odd experience of being pulled diagonally down at the coastline into this dome. Enough water would make the ocean surface seem flat again (as the curvature became more gradual) but now surrounded by imposing near-vertical cliffs of land.
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Also the air would be rather thin towards the disc edge, but it would be suffocatingly thick nearer the middle.
On this basis, if you launched a rocket from the disc edge it would either skim along the rim or travel over and above the centre of the disc in a huge arc to a point on the rim directly opposite 鈥� a trans orbit. Either way its orbit would be near circular.
A skimming orbit would be spectacular, like flying along a knife-edge mountain ridge, but the trans orbit would give the best views. We should definitely attach cameras to this rocket as we would see what is on the flip side of this world. I suspect it is turtles all the way down, and we mustn鈥檛 frighten them or big earthquakes may ensue.
鈥淲e should attach cameras to this rocket as we will see what is on the flip side of our flat Earth鈥�
Hillary Shaw, Newport, Shropshire, UK
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