However, any significant travel in a North/South direction will result in an apparent rotation of the stars, which is clear evidence of the curvature of Earth. There is an 8° difference in latitude between Ithaca (42° North) and Rabat, Morocco (34° north). This is sufficient to be easily measured with a homemade sextant (ie. a protractor with a plumb-bob. Precalc students have had recent experience with this device!) The “height” of a star relative to the celestial equator is referred to as the declination. Any observed star will appear to change its declination by an angle equal to the change in latitude. I used Gemini, which is currently prominent, as a reference and measured before I left and when I arrived. I am happy to report that my results confirm Earth’s curvature.
By the way, the stars alone cannot easily measure East/West motion, since it cannot be distinguished from the changes caused by the rotation of the earth. Accurate East/West navigation was not really possible until the invention of the chronometer (clock), so that Earth’s rotation could be accurately discounted.