Tom, why are you so stuck on the notion that long distance spotting is the only way to determine the Earth's shape?
When I first came on the site, I was curious about the discussion. Why on earth would people think that the earth was not round?
After awhile, I discovered that RE- as well as FE-models are based on assumptions.
Several FE-people did their own long-distance observations. They did that for a reason. They are not stupid. If you think they are, probably you are more stupid and very arrogant.
So, observing is the thing to do. Then, you have to know more about calculating the horizons at different heights, refraction and superior mirages (as opposed to inferior mirages). Superior mirages only happen when the surface is cold and there is warm air above it. No chance you have this in Spain in summer.
So, I bought a spotting scope and did quite a few observations on 5 days.
Yesterday when I was looking there was an extreme clear moment. I could see the island Ibiza from the beach, near the harbour, in Altea. And I saw several ships far far away.
It was amazing.
A few minutes later when I was looking at a different spot, the vision was less clear and I could look at ships about 25 km away and at a different harbour, 6 km away. I saw the bottom of small boats and people water skying.
On five days I didn't see a curvature of the earth.
Observing is good, but if you aren't sure what you're looking for how can you tell if you've seen it or not?
For instance, I read in the "Moonlight" thread that exposure to "the Strawberry Moon"
could have bad effects, but even after asking,
couldn't get any details about what the effects were. After being out in the moonlight that evening, I didn't notice
any ill effects, but maybe there were some and I didn't realize it, or I wasn't exposed long enough; it was a nice enough evening, but getting a little chilly in shorts and a T-shirt, so I didn't stay outside all that long - a little less than 30 minutes. Since the inflamed skin from a moderate scrape is sometimes called a "strawberry", I thought I might get a mild rash, but nothing like that appeared, and since I didn't know what else to look for, the experiment looks like a bust.
When you were looking at Ibiza, could you also see Formentera (I think that's the smaller island just south of Ibiza)? If so, why didn't you mention it? If you looked but couldn't see it, why do you think this happened? If you didn't look for it, why not?
I don't know why I am writing this as everyone in this thread is only mocking me and ridiculing everything I say.
This is my last thread that I will encourage people to do their own long-distance observations.
We mock you because you go on and on about 60X spotting scopes as if they are the
only way to tell
anything about the shape of the earth. It's one thing to have an idea how to do something like this, but ridiculous to believe it's the
only way to accomplish it.
I really don't care what you do or believe.
More than 330 posts in 20 days suggests otherwise.
I will now focus on more observations in the mountains and on the land when I'm going to a different country.
That's a good thing to do, but you might plan some experiments first. I'd suggest you identify objects you expect to be visible and not visible from a given location (from location X, I should be able to see mountain Y but not mountain Z, at about the same distance) and seeing how well your observations fit the predictions. Repeat under different weather conditions (early morning and late afternoon, for instance), if possible, and note the differences.
Just looking at stuff, without a clear idea of what you're doing, doesn't make a very convincing case. Enjoy your travels.
[Edit] fix typo.