How far away is the horizon?

Question

If you were in a desert or looking out to sea and everything was completely flat, how far are you able to see? Would there be a difference between the North Pole and the Equator?

WALLY, READ THE BLOODY QUESTION!!!!!

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For people between 5 and 6ft tall its between 3 and 3.3 miles.

Answer 1

Depends upon how high above the surface of the water or the land you are, but assuming your eye is 1m above sea level or the ground surface then the horizon would be 2.1174 Nautical Miles or 2.4380 Statute Miles or 3.923 Km away. The earth is slightly flattened at the poles so you would theoretically see further there.

Check out http://www.boatsafe.com/tools/horizon.htm

1 Nautical Mile = 1 minute of latitude = 1853 meters 1.15 statute miles.

If the thing you are viewing is beyond the horizon, but has itself some height or elevation, then you can see further still.

Answer 2

Assuming a clear day, the distance from the observer to the horizon is dependent upon a number of factors:

1/ The height of the eye above ground level.

2/ Where you are situated e.g. at the equator or the N or S pole. The earth is flattened at the poles therefore the radius of curvature is greater than that at the equator. (Think of an ellipse). The distance of view would be greater at the poles.

3/ The mathematical value will be less than the visual due to the fact light is BENT around the earth's curvature and thus increases the distance of view. Also bear in mind the effect of heat and cold on the refraction of light.

Should you wish to delve deeper then open Google and type in: 'HORIZON DISTANCE'.

You will find all the mathematical and other facts explained in detail.

Answer 3

On a flat surface the horizon is the square root of (2 * viewpoint height * radius of earth). for a person standing looking out to sea at the waters edge this would be about 4 miles. This would be very marginally higher at the poles where the radius of curvature is slightly larger

More imporatant are the optical effects, warmer (less dense) air at the surface "lenses" the light around the surface increasing the viewing range. This would generally be the case at the poles

Answer 4

On a flat plain or on water the horizon is about 13 miles away. The Earth is a little out of round but not enough so that the horizon would be noticibly different anywhere.

Answer 5

The horizon is the point where you can see no further due to the curvature of the Earth. You can calculate the distance in nautical miles as 1.17 * the square root of the height of your eyeline in feet. 1 nautical mile is equal to 1.15078 miles so it's easy to work out the final result.
So if your eyes are six feet off the ground and you're standing at sea level, then the distance is...
1.17 * 2.44948974278 = 2.86590299906 nautical miles
2.86590299906 nautical miles = 3.29802385326 miles

Answer 6

assuming a perfectly spherical earth with distance from centre R and your height r, then the distance from the top of your body to the horizon point is the square root of (2 x R x r) + (r x r). (pythagoras)

Answer 7

22 miles

Answer 8

this is a difficult question basically the earth is round to the horizon is co0ntinuous

Answer 9

i believe the furthest you can see is 35 miles o that must be the horizon

Answer 10

I learned in school that it is about 30 kilometers