Why does the horizon appear higher than the land you are standing on?

Answer 1

This is because since we were child any thing we see at greater angle is higher right ?
When you look at the land you're standing your eyes look "down" ( at a small angle less than 90 degree) and the horizon is just at 90 degrees.
Hence the horizon appears higher than the land you stood on.
It is called horizon because it is horizontal to our eyes.
I'm sorry if I'm wrong, may be the word horizontal comes from horizon. anyway.

Answer 2

Oct.30/ 06
Its actually an Optical illusion, Created by the Atmosphere
itsself. Are you aware that when you are Observing the Sun
Setting on the horizon, the sun is all ready below the horizon?
This is also an Optical illusion, thru the Atmosphere.
R. [e-mail]

Answer 3

It's intresting, isn't it! On a really really cold day it almost seems like you are standing in a very large bowl.

Have you ever noticed that at sunrise and sunset the sun seems just stupidly huge? And then at noon if you look up it's almost as if the sun is no bigger than a bottle cap?

Believe it or not the two phenomina have the same answer.

Wanna know? Wanna know?

Well I'm going too tell you anyways! Ha! How do you like THOSE apples.

(Ok... I'll stop being a wise ***.)

Light travels at different "speeds" as it passes thru different mediums. (I'll explain exactly what that means in a bit.) This causes the image too be distorted. So... When you look straight up you are looking thru less atmosphere than when you gaze out too the horizon. If you are having trouble getting your head around this idea try this:

On a sheet of paper draw a circle about 20mm in diamter (or roughly one inch). No draw another circle about 30mm in diameter around your first circle (that be about an inch and a half).* Now draw a set of cross hairs that intersects both circles. Now draw a line parralle too the horizon hair (the one that goes right left--not up down) that touches the top of the inside circle and cuts thru the out side circle. Now you can go head and measure the distance between the the top of the inside circle and the out side circle in both the up/down dirction and the right left direction. See the difference?

So... as you look straight up you are looking thru less air or atmospher than if you look out at the horrizon. You remember me saying that "light travels at different speeds in different mediums"? This "speed" change causes a magnification effect. Thus the horizon looks bigger than it really should. This has the effect of "lifting" it a bit. Thus why the sun looks bigger at sunrise and sunset than at noon.

Some questions you might have at this point are "what this about cold days?" and "Why are you putting quotes around the word speed?"

I'M GLAD YOU ASKED! (even though you didn't *looks about a touch embarassed like)

First the "cold day issue":

You are probably familar with the concept 'density'. In short this is how much matterial is packed into a given volume. I know this is a crude and incomplete way of thinking about it but it will serve the explination. As something get's colder it shrinks and it's volume goes down. As it gets warmer the opposite happens. So... on a very cold day the air molecules get closer together. In effect you end up looking thru more air than on a hot day. Thus the light that goes thru it "slows down" even more. Thus increasing the magnification effect.

Now for the speed issue: The light isn't *actually* slowing down as you would normally think about it. Instead it is "bending" (yeah... I'll get too bending in a moment). This increases the ammount of time it takes for the light to get too you. This is why we call it a "speed" change. A better way too describe this would be too call it a "vector" change. It's this "bending" that cause the magnification effect. Too get your head around this idea I have a quicky science experiment you can do.

Get a large glass container. Look thru it at different objects and at different angles. You'll see that the image gets more distorted when you look at something via the lest direct angle. Now add water too the jar. You'll notice this effect is increased even more. The images seem more curvy. Yeah?

Please feel free too get ahold of me via email or IM if you want me too clerify any of this.

Hope this helps.

* Anyone who points out that 20mm does NOT equal one inch gets no points. I know this. I picked the values because they are easy and close enough. So there! : )

Answer 4

The appearance by seeing and the real thing diff erred.Everything on the Earth surface,fall except out of the Stratosphere.And you know,the Earth is round or based on the geometry slightly oval.So,standing at any point on the planet Earth,the vision must be seen as something external higher.

Answer 5

If your horizon includes mountains, it should be obvious. If your 'horizon' is flat, then you have to look 'down' (from the horizon) to see anything that's closer to you.


Doug