While Christopher Columbus is commonly credited with proving the Earth's roundness by crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the 15th century, Tyson says the Ancient Greeks knew they were living on a sphere thousands of years prior. 'The only thing that makes a perfect circle shadow every time is a perfect sphere.' If Earth were flat, sometimes you'd get a flat shadow. 'If you see the shape of Earth's shadow on the moon, it is always round. 'Almost everything in the universe is either spheres or slight distortions of a sphere.'Īs evidence, he cited the lunar cycle which everyone can observe. 'All the laws of physics and the accounting of energy as processes unfold in the universe…they conspire to make things round.'īodies that have a flatter shape have been compressed because they rotate extremely fast, which the Earth does not. He explained the physics around why heavenly bodies tend to be spherical, which he wrote about at length in his book Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. 'Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and the sun are all spheres. 'What's odd is there are people who think that Earth is flat but recognize that the moon is round,' Tyson says. 'Flat-Earthers' are a small group who have gained notoriety in recent years for their unsubstantiated claims that the Earth's roundness is a conspiracy, and that the truth of the planet's shape is being withheld from the public.

'The Earth is round.'Īfter pretending to end the conversation after that definitive statement, the co-hosts went on to discuss how some people had come to believe in a flat planet. 'We have video from space of the rotating, spherical Earth,' Tyson says. Toxic Chinese space station in death spiral, could hit New Zealand.Teddy bear launched into stratosphere by young space enthusiasts.In it, he spoke with comedian Chuck Nice about the overwhelming scientific evidence that our planet is spherical in shape. Neil deGrasse Tyson debunked 'flat Earth theory' in a new video on his YouTube channel. The world's most famous astrophysicist has confirmed the long-held belief that the Earth is round.

Flat earthers prove earth is round