Appreciate the reply — but I think there’s a bit of oversimplification going on.
Seeing a thunderstorm from 300 km away works because the cloud tops rise 15–20 km into the sky — you’re seeing the top, not something level with the ground. That’s very different from trying to spot a low-lying object like Tasmania across a flat surface.
Take last weekend as a real-world example: my wife and I went to Sunshine Beach (Noosa) Through binoculars toward Mooloolaba Beach — 31 km away. You can clearly see the sand, not just high-rises — but the actual beach. According to the Earth curve calculator, the curvature drop over 31 km should be around 75 meters, meaning the beach should’ve been well below the horizon. But it wasn’t. You shouldn't even see the buildings.
That alone should make you pause.
Also, here’s something to try yourself: when the sun appears to “set,” put on sunglasses and look through a telescope. You’ll see the sun is still above the horizon, just farther away — not dipping behind a curve.
I’m not here to argue — just encouraging you to dig into the real observational science and do some hands-on tests. If the globe model is absolute, it should stand up to scrutiny — but so far, there are cracks worth exploring.
