An expedition to Antarctica in December 2024 aimed to challenge long-held flat Earth beliefs, with participants witnessing phenomena – like the midnight sun – that contradict the flat Earth model. The experiment, a three-year undertaking in planning, was organized by Will Duffy, who invited 48 online content creators to observe the natural phenomenon.
The expedition, which took place at Union Glacier Camp in West Antarctica, included both proponents of a spherical Earth and those who believe the Earth is flat. Participants livestreamed the midnight sun over several days, and, notably, all flat Earth participants acknowledged the reality of the phenomenon.
Jeran Campanella, a prominent flat Earther who joined the expedition, later admitted he was mistaken. In March 2025, Campanella publicly announced his change of view regarding the Earth’s shape at the Skepticamp conference in Los Angeles, an event focused on critical thinking.
However, the broader flat Earth community has largely dismissed the expedition’s findings, alleging manipulation and claiming participants were financially incentivized to fabricate their observations. This highlights the challenges in changing deeply held beliefs, even in the face of direct evidence.
The debate echoes a larger trend of misinformation and the difficulty of applying scientific reasoning to conspiracy theories. The Earth’s roughly spherical shape was established centuries ago, confirmed through numerous observations including eclipses, celestial navigation, and modern satellite imagery.
While the Antarctic expedition was a costly demonstration, alternative approaches to debunking flat Earth theories have emerged. One example is a series of video discussions between flat Earth proponents and skeptics, including a three-part series available online.
In one such discussion, Dominik Mrvík, described as a leading flat Earth advocate in the Czech Republic, presented a model of the sun orbiting the Arctic in a circular path. An analysis of Mrvík’s model revealed a geometric inconsistency: the sun, according to his depiction, would set in the northwest rather than directly west during the equinox, a detail he overlooked.
Foto: Miroslav Dressler
Pohyb slunce v době rovnodennosti
Flat Earth models typically posit a sun diameter of approximately 50 kilometers, orbiting 5000 kilometers above the Earth. However, this model fails to account for basic observations, such as the length of shadows cast at sunset. Observers frequently report shadows exceeding 50 meters, a length impossible given the proposed sun’s distance and size.
Another easily verifiable observation disproving the flat Earth theory is the phenomenon of clouds illuminated from below during or after sunset.
Numerous other well-established observations contradict the flat Earth theory – including the phases of the moon, lunar eclipses, and differing star constellations visible in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The analysis underscores the importance of readily verifiable evidence in challenging pseudoscientific claims.
During the video discussion, moderator Tim Kožuchov concluded the debate, stating it was unproductive to continue discussing a theory based on flawed premises, particularly after Mrvík claimed the moon shines like a “spotlight.” This highlighted a fundamental misunderstanding of the moon’s nature and origin.
Anyone observing a crescent moon through a telescope can see This proves a sphere illuminated by the sun, a fact supported by countless images from professional and amateur astronomers.
As a final thought: “The universe is infinite, and so is human stupidity. Though I’m not so sure about the universe.”
