Asked by: Junaid Levann
science space and astronomy

How many miles can you see before the earth curves?

15
The old saying turns out to be just about true. Forasix-foot tall person, the horizon is a little more than3miles (5 km) away. Geometry tells us that the distance ofthehorizon – i.e. the farthest point the eye can seebeforeEarth curves out beneath our view – depends simply ontheheight of the observer.


Herein, can you see the Earth's curvature?

It is possible to see the effect ofthecurvature of the earth from sea level(shipsdisappearing over the horizon). To actually seethecurvature directly (ie to be able to see thehorizonas an arc, rather than a straight line) requires an altitudeofover 50,000 feet.

Also Know, how many miles can you see out to sea? Boat captains say, on average, you can seeshipson the horizon or land at about 12 miles. A roughformula athttp://science.howstuffworks.com Examples: For anobserver standingon the ground with h = 1.70 metres (5 ft 7 in)(average eye-levelheight), the horizon is at a distance of 4.7kilometres (2.9mi).

Similarly, you may ask, how much does the earth curve in 6 miles?

However, it turns out that while the earthdoescurve 8 inches in one mile, it does not take9miles to curve 72 inches. To show this, let usreturnto the Pythagorean Theorem method used by Harley, butusing6 feet for the curvature.

How much does the earth curve in 1 mile?

The Earth has a radius of approximately3965miles. Using the Pythagorean theorem, that calculates toanaverage curvature of 7.98 inches per mileorapproximately 8 inches per mile (squared).

Related Question Answers

Huria Hermecke

Professional

At what height is Earth's curvature visible?

It's hard to see the curvature of theearthfrom an altitude of 7 miles or 37,000 ft(typical cruisingaltitude of a jetliner) but easy to seefrom 250 miles(typical altitude of the ISS). The line ofsight from anaircraft at 37,000 feet = 235 miles. That's onlyabout 3.4 degreesof the earth's surface.

Sounia Bora

Professional

How high is space?

In the US, "space" begins at 80.4km (50 miles),or264,000 feet. General international consensus sets a similarlimitfor the start of space as 100km (62 miles), or 380,000feet."Low Earth Orbit" (LEO), where many satellites live, goesfrom 160km(100 miles, 525,000 feet) to 2,000km (1,240 miles, 6.5millionfeet).

Crecencio Hans

Professional

How far can you see at 30000 feet?

So, at 10,000 feet you can see 122 miles,at30,000 feet you can see 211 miles, and at 40,000 feetyoucan see 244 miles. Of course, if you look "above"thehorizon, you can see the sun at 93,000,000 miles andatnight, even further, to the stars.

Hermandina Venderbosch

Explainer

Can you see curvature from Everest?

But the curvature they show is not that oftheEarth. Earth's curvature can't be visually seen fromanylocation on the ground, even from Mount Everest.Studiesshow that the threshold altitude for seeingthecurvature is about 35,000 ft (10,668 m).

Manjinder Awik

Explainer

How far away is the horizon at sea level?

For an observer standing on the ground with h =1.70metres (5 ft 7 in), the horizon is at a distanceof4.7 kilometres (2.9 mi).

Gwendoline Oschwald

Explainer

How far is the horizon on the moon?

2.43 km

Mateu Bajaev

Pundit

Can stars be seen in space?

Fast exposure times means they can getgoodpictures of the bright Earth or lunar surface, but it alsomeans nostars in the picture. Even in space,stars arerelatively dim, and simply don't produce enoughlight to show up inphotos set for bright sunlight.

Zora Missiakos

Pundit

How far can you see with the naked eye?

As a result, on a flat surface with your eyes5feet or so off the ground, the farthest edge that youcansee is about 3 miles away.

Munir Mitul

Pundit

How do you measure curvature?

To measure the curvature at a pointyouhave to find the circle of best fit at that point. This iscalledthe osculating (kissing) circle. The curvature of thecurveat that point is defined to be the reciprocal of the radius oftheosculating circle.

Igone Jungklas

Pundit

How far away can you see the Statue of Liberty?

60 miles

Mariella Frazoo

Pundit

What is the curve of the earth called?

Hypsometric curve, also calledHypsographicCurve, cumulative height frequency curvefor theEarth's surface or some part thereof.

Hristian Serapio

Teacher

How do you calculate the radius of the earth?

Compute the radius of theearthusing the formula C (circumference) = 2 x pi xr(radius). Erastosthenes' formula would looklikethis: 39,350 = 2 x 3.14 x r, or 6,267 kilometers.

Nenita Obermanns

Supporter

How deep the ocean is?

The average depth of the ocean is about12,100feet . The deepest part of the ocean is calledtheChallenger Deep and is located beneath the westernPacificOcean in the southern end of the Mariana Trench,which runsseveral hundred kilometers southwest of the U.S.territorial islandof Guam.

Nelly Nithin

Supporter

How far can you see from a plane?

What if you're a lot higher up, like inanairplane? At a cruising altitude of 39,000 feet (12,000meters;typical for a cross-country flight) the horizon is 391 km(235miles) away! That's a surprisingly long way; in general thatmeansyou could be looking across one or more statesin theUS.

Llorens Dhaliwal

Supporter

How far away can you see a mountain?

From a tall building on a clear day, you canseemountains as far away as about 100miles.

Amia Ibrito

Beginner

How are nautical miles different?

A nautical mile measures distance and aknotmeasures speed.
A nautical mile is based on the circumferenceofthe earth, and is equal to one minute of latitude. It isslightlymore than a statute (land measured) mile (1nauticalmile = 1.1508 statute miles ). Nauticalmiles areused for charting and navigating.

Placer Koffmane

Beginner

Where is the horizon astronomy?

Horizon, in astronomy, boundary wherethesky seems to meet the ground or sea. (In astronomy itisdefined as the intersection on the celestial sphere of aplaneperpendicular to a plumb line.) The higher the observer, thelowerand more distant is his visible horizon.

Aissa Trasierra

Beginner

How far can you see from Everest?

The map above shows how far youtheoreticallycould see from the top of Mt. Everest onperfectlyclear day, with perfect vision and without any obstacles.And theanswer, in case the text above is too small, is 340km (211miles)in any direction.

Co-Authored By:

EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

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12th July, 2021

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