The big, blue marble
The earth looks like a big, blue marble to astronauts flying in outer
space. It’s easy for them to see the round shape of the earth because
the astronauts are so far away. But how can you see the shape of the
earth while you’re standing on it?
Look at a globe. A globe is a model of the earth. It shows you
mountains, oceans, lakes, rivers, deserts, grasslands, and forests. Most
globes even tilt, just like the real earth.
A globe shows the earth as it really is—round. And it shows the true
shapes of the continents. But with a globe, you see only a part of the
earth at one time. To see places on the other side, you must turn the
globe.
If you want to see the whole earth at one time, you have to look at a
map. But a map won’t show you the earth as it really is. Mapmakers
squeeze and stretch parts of the world when they draw them on a flat
map. So, a globe is the best way to see the shape of the earth—unless
you have a spaceship.
