Astronaut waves and flips his camera to shut down flat Earth theory once and for all

An astronaut has shared a video from space which sets the record straight on the 'flat Earth' theory once and for all.

The understanding that Earth is round has been a part of our common knowledge for thousands of years.

Despite popular misconceptions regarding 2D maps and the goals of Christopher Columbus, humans have been aware that we live on a spherical shaped planet since the Hellenistic times, with Greek philosopher Pythagoras speculating this before his death in 495 B.C.

And yet... the myth that we live on a flat, table-topped shape world is one that has endured for centuries.

Granted misconceptions about what our planet looks like may have been more widespread hundreds of years ago, however - even in an age characterised by information overload - we've still not been able to move past 'flat Earth' arguments.

The arguments put forward by flat Earthers must be particularly funny to astronauts, given the fact that they've seen our planet in its full spherical beauty plenty of times.

Still not convinced? Here is a video clip from an astronaut showing the Earth is round that has since been shared across social media.

Shared via the account spacemanedu on TikTok, who regularly shares clips taken from astronauts in space, the clip features an astronaut waving to the camera before flipping it around to show his view of Earth. "Someone said Earth was flat," the video's caption added.

For anyone who's still (somehow) not convinced, NASA also regularly shares pictures and videos of Earth taken from space via their International Space Station and NASA Earth Instagram accounts.

Why do people believe that the Earth is flat?

Unlike historical civilisations who may have believed the Earth was flat because they had no evidence to prove otherwise, why does the conspiracy theory still prevail today, even though we have more than enough evidence to prove otherwise?

Modern flat Earth beliefs can be traced back to 19th century inventor Samuel Rowbotham, who claimed that his theory of zetetic astronomy proved that our planet was a flat disc centred around the north pole. His ideas would later be shared by prominent flat-Earthers of the time such as William Carpenter.

So, what is the best way to deal with a flat-Earther? Ignore them or pull out a wealth of facts and evidence?

Not always.

SUNY astrophysicist Paul M. Sutter previously argued in an a piece for Space.com that the modern belief in a flat Earth stems from a 'lack of trust' towards scientists and experts.

"By claiming that Earth is flat, people are really expressing a deep distrust of scientists and science itself," he writes.

"So if you find yourself talking to a flat-Earther, skip the evidence and arguments and ask yourself how you can build trust."