Most of us have seen memes on social media posted in support of spreading the flat proof. A lot, if not all, of them present some sort of logical argument to support their belief. Let’s take a look at a few of them and see what we come up with, logically of course.
Four Agencies, Four Worlds
In this meme, we see someone has gathered four different pics taken from four different space agencies. I never did see the what the point was in this except perhaps the coloring. Certainly, they are not pointing out the different continents…
Let us consider the coloring of each of the photos. Anyone who has dabbled in photography, and I am confident many others that have not, know there are different types of cameras which utilize different types of energy sources. These variants depend on the types of data being collected, and for what purpose. We’re not talking about types of batteries or electrical outlets here.
Types of imaging
A few types of imaging used with satellites include infrared, water vapor, and visible. As there are more, the more I myself am learning about these the more I find there is to learn.
One common use for infrared imaging is testing electrical components. Use of infrared can reveal excessive heat not detected by the human eye or regular cameras. Infrared images can point out potential problems that can be repaired before any real damage is done.
Simply put, infrared imaging is an excellent tool for discerning temperatures.
Visible imagery is just that – visible. It is much like taking a pic with a camera, just from far away. One of the drawbacks is the limitation to daytime capturing.
Some of the uses for visible satellite imagery include watching weather patterns and mapping apps. Look into almost any map app such as Bing or Google, and you will have an option to switch to a satellite view.
Water vapor imaging senses the water content of our upper atmosphere. This can be very helpful to discern weather patterns and to predict potential amounts of rainfall.
Resolution types
Other factors that need to be considered are the image resolution types. As there are multiple types of imaging by itself, there are even more types of resolution. Some resolution types include radiometric, spatial, spectral, and temporal.
Without belaboring this post and your time, you are asked to look these up and see for yourself. You will see how the different resolutions, combined with the different image types, will produce different looking images. These differences will not change the shapes or sizes of continents or water bodies, but they will produce a different look such as colors or physical contours.
To bring this around
As with any argument, especially when a person wants to convince another of their theory or belief, facts need to be justified.
We have been presented with the meme showing there are four different worlds according to four different space agencies. The problem is, when this is presented, there is no good explanation or research notes to fortify the claim.
Looking at the images presented in the meme and doing only a little bit of research on the topic, it is found to be flawed. Glancing at the images a difference is noticed right off the bat they are most likely different types of imagery. With that, a simple search on the internet can explain what the types are, what they are used for, and why they appear different.
Given this, we can accept better they are the same world in each of these. Simply put, this meme has fallen “flat”.
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