(UNICAMP - 2021 - 1 fase)All aboard the flat earth

(UNICAMP - 2021 - 1ª fase)

All aboard the flat earth cruise – just don’t tell them about nautical navigation

A group of people who believe the Earth is flat have announced their “boldest adventure yet”: a Flat Earth cruise scheduled for 2020. Flat earthers will enjoy swimming pools and perhaps even an artificial surf wave. There’s just one problem for those celebrating the flatness of the Earth. The navigational systems cruise ships, and other vessels, use rely on the fact that the Earth is not flat. “Nautical charts are designed with that in mind: that the Earth is round. GPS relies on 24 main satellites which orbit the Earth to provide positional and navigational information. The reason why 24 satellites were used is because of the curvature of the Earth,” said Henk Keijer, a former cruise ship captain who sailed all over the globe during a 23-year career. “At least three satellites are required to determine a position. But someone located on the other side of the Earth would also like to know their position, so they also require a certain number of satellites. Had the Earth been flat, a total of three satellites would have been enough to provide this information to everyone on Earth. But it is not enough, because the Earth is round.”

(Adaptado de https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/09/flat-earth-cruisenautical-navigation. Acessado em 20/08/2020.)

 

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