Why isn´t the Earth flat?

The Earth isn't flat for several reasons, supported by a wide range of scientific evidence:

**Gravity**: The Earth's mass creates a gravitational force that pulls objects toward its center. This force acts equally in all directions, leading to a spherical shape. In a flat model, gravity would create uneven forces and would not uniformly pull objects towards a central point.

**Observations from Space**: Images and data collected from satellites and space missions clearly show the Earth as a sphere. Astronauts have also reported seeing the curvature of the Earth from space.

**Horizon Curvature**: When observing ships or objects moving away from shore, they disappear from the bottom up, which is consistent with the curvature of a spherical Earth. If the Earth were flat, we would see the entire object until it was too far away to see.

**Circumnavigation**: Air and sea navigation demonstrate that it is possible to travel around the world in a continuous path, which would not be feasible on a flat surface. If you travel in a straight line in one direction, you will eventually return to your starting point.

**Time Zones**: The existence of different time zones around the world is a result of the Earth's spherical shape and its rotation. As the Earth turns, different areas receive sunlight at different times, creating day and night cycles.

**Eclipses**: During a lunar eclipse, the Earth casts a round shadow on the Moon. This shadow is always circular, which would only happen if the Earth is spherical.

**Satellite Technology**: Communication and weather satellites rely on the Earth being spherical. Their positioning and orbits are based on calculations that assume a spherical planet.

**Geodesy and Topography**: The science of measuring Earth's shape, orientation in space, and gravity field (geodesy) confirms the Earth is an oblate spheroid, which means it is mostly spherical but slightly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator.

These points, among others, firmly support the conclusion that the Earth is not flat but is instead a nearly spherical planet.