The goal of this paper is to study the question of whether a phenomenological view of the Earth could be empirically endorsed. The phenomenological way of thinking considers the Earth as a material entity, but not as an object as viewed in science. In the learning science tradition, tracking the process of the conceptual change of the shape of the Earth, science's view of the Earth as an object--a celestial body--has been applied. I reanalysed data published in Vosniadou and Brewer's ("Cognit psychol" 24:535-585, 1992) seminal paper. According to my reanalysis of their interview material, it is plausible to conclude that the Earth as an infinite surface is the way to experience the Earth. Further, the "dual Earth model" is the first model of the Earth as an object. I conclude that experiences in the lifeworld need to be taken into consideration more seriously in science education research.