English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

Not withstanding being able to see the sun and stars etc, how far can i actually see?

2006-07-28 09:19:05 · 10 answers · asked by Mac 2 in Science & Mathematics Physics

10 answers

try installing google earth on your pc it will show you the world!

2006-07-28 09:25:05 · answer #1 · answered by karen464916 4 · 1 3

You can't see 'around the world' because the world is round, and no matter how high you go, you can only see one side of the sphere at a time. From airplanes and from space, pilots and astronauts can see bigger and bigger sections of the Earth, but I assume you are asking about what you, yourself, standing on the surface of the planet, could see with your unaided eye. (telescopes make things bigger, but you can't actually see *farther* around the Earth with them, because things that are out of your line of sight, over the horizon, would be out of the telescope's line of sight, too)

There is no precise answer to the limit on how far your line of sight will reach, because it depends so much on your location and the geography around you, but if you are on the top of a mountain on a completely clear day (deserts work best for this) and there is fantastic visibility (lack of haze and pollution in the air blocking you), you can probably see upwards of fifty miles in any completely unblocked direction.

I have had a view like that perhaps once in my life, out of many travels. It was in Utah, at a park called Canyonlands. Pretty amazing.

2006-07-28 18:10:13 · answer #2 · answered by mtfbwy 3 · 0 0

If there are no obstacles in the way, you can see as far as the curve of the earth. Get a football; you can't see the other side of it because it has curved round. Try looking out to sea, and the reason you can't see the land on the other side is cos the world has curved round. Not sure how far it is in miles / kilometers though.

2006-07-28 16:27:35 · answer #3 · answered by Jude 7 · 0 0

If you can see the sun, you could see around the world. If it was flat, or if you set up some mirrors or fibre optics.

I think in theory you can see as far as you like, so long as there's light from the source making it into your eye.


But on a pracitcal level, you wouldn't be able to see anything good.

2006-07-28 16:24:52 · answer #4 · answered by Wax Crayon 4 · 0 0

Yes of course you could, open an atlas with a picture of the whole world map on it and there you are, you have seen round the world, hope you enjoyed it.

2006-07-28 16:36:46 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

it depends on where you are at in the world..but on a good day with good visibility you could see 20-30 miles standing on a hill top with flat surfaces around you

2006-07-28 16:24:06 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

stars are the furthest things you can see (there's one in particular but I don't remember the name). But besides that, I don't really get you're question.

2006-07-28 16:24:21 · answer #7 · answered by Peter 2 · 0 0

i wish you could. i waved at my bf but he couldn't see me and i was only a mile away yet he could see the sun!

2006-07-28 16:30:38 · answer #8 · answered by minerva 7 · 0 0

Hmmm, unless you are god which I doubt since he dosent have a computer...then NO

2006-07-28 16:22:15 · answer #9 · answered by c g 3 · 0 0

Let us know, when you do, 'k?

2006-07-28 16:22:23 · answer #10 · answered by ravin_lunatic 6 · 0 0

fedest.com, questions and answers