The shape of our planet is one of the unknowns that has always existed on Earth. It has aconcreteshape and is something that has been the subject of discussion for many years. In fact, to this day, there are still people reluctant to think that the Earth is not flat.
In the beginning, it was believed that the Earth was a flat disc, but the first known Hellenic thinkers began to question this theory. Aristotle, Pythagoras and Parmenides began to understand the earth as something other than a disc, all thanks to the study of the sky
That is why since, approximately, the third century BC, it has been known that the Earth is a sphere rather than a disc. Nowadays, there are people who refuse to believe in the sphericity of the Earth, defending flat-earthism.
The Earth has a specific shape and it is not a sphere
According to specialists, the Earth is not flat, but neither is it a perfect sphere. There is a name for these shapes in which there is a flattening on one side and enlargement on the other.
The Earth is an oblate spheroid. That is, a sphere that is not perfect, as it is flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator
This shape is the real one for several reasons: the diametral enlargement is a consequence of the flattening of the poles, but also by the action of the rotation of the Earth on its own axis and on the sun. Therefore, the force exerted is stronger at the equator. Thus, the equatorial diameter is larger than the polar diameter. The polar diameter is 12,714 kilometers, while the equatorial diameter is 12,757 kilometers. Although they differ by only 43 kilometers, they are fundamental for making the appropriate calculations for long-distance transport, for example.