how far???

Question

if your looking outside how far can a person see in a distance?

Answer 1

On a clear dark night you can see galaxies millions of lightyears away. The horizon you see depends on how high above the ground you are. One approximate formula for the distance in miles to the horizon is:
distance =sqrt(1.5 x height)
so if I'm 6 feet above the flat ground or better yet a flat ocean, my horizon is sqrt(9) = 3 miles. This would work really well if the Earth were smooth like a bowling ball, but its rough and has mountains and valleys and hills and trees so the formula is idealized. See wikipedia "horizon"
In Modern industrialized countries, pollution often makes it difficult to see more than 20 miles unless you are way up in an airplane.

Answer 2

The sun is 93,000,000 miles away and you can see it. If you look at the moon you're seeing an object which is about 236,000 miles away. When you look at the stars, the distances become light years, the nearest being four light years. However, you can't see far; you can only see the emitted or reflected light that reaches your eyes from the object toward which you may be looking. The light stimulates the rods in your eyes which send electrical signals to the optic nerve, transmitting them to the brain where they are interpreted into what seems to be seeing. So, technically, you can't see far. You can only see the light being reflected or emitted from an object. The light may have traveled a long distance and this is the crux of your question. What is the farthest traveling light the naked eye can see? Now that's a good question. Ask an astronomer which is the farthest light source from the earth which the naked eye can perceive. Then you will have your answer.

Answer 3

Give dimwit... the best answer cause he's not a dim wit.

When you can see the stars you are seeing things millions, billions or more miles away.. you are even looking way back in time !. OK?

Jonnie

Answer 4

If you look out over the ocean, it's about 8 miles.

Answer 5

Miles.

Answer 6

.......and the EXACT answer for the line of sight distance to the horizon is d = sqrt(2Rh + h^2) where R is the earth radius and h is your height above sea level

Answer 7

couple of miles