Why does our atmosphere appear spherical while Earth itself is clearly not (e.g., elevations from ocean trenches to mountains)?

Question

Why does our atmosphere appear spherical while Earth itself is clearly not (e.g., elevations from ocean trenches to mountains)?

In: Physics

Answer 1

The earth is 7,918 miles across. That makes Mt. Everest’s 5odd miles high a 0.07% maximum deviation in the sphere.

On our scale the Earth is jagged and rocky. On the Earth’s own scale, it’s almost perfectly smooth.