Yesterday I was watching this BBC documentary “Wonders of the Solar System” and the host referred to the distance of the horizon which set me pondering. The documentary is very interesting and I would certainly recommend watching it. Anyway I am sure almost everyone has used the phrase “as far as the horizon” at some point or another. Yes I understand it is very cliché but sometimes it is the only way to describe the scenery or the view.
With the distance of the horizon in mind, I read more about it on Wikipedia. On Wikipedia these approximate figures are cited:
1.If you are standing at the sea level and your eye level is 1.7m, the horizon is only 4.7 km (2.9 miles) away. 2.At a height of 100m, the horizon is 36 km (22 miles) away.
Therefore, if you standing on the beach and you see something on the surface of the sea, it is actually not very far away.
How far is the horizon?
Yesterday I was watching this BBC documentary “Wonders of the Solar System” and the host referred to the distance of the horizon which set me pondering. The documentary is very interesting and I would certainly recommend watching it. Anyway I am sure almost everyone has used the phrase “as far as the horizon” at some point or another. Yes I understand it is very cliché but sometimes it is the only way to describe the scenery or the view.
credit: NASA, Space Shuttle Endeavour
With the distance of the horizon in mind, I read more about it on Wikipedia. On Wikipedia these approximate figures are cited:
1.If you are standing at the sea level and your eye level is 1.7m, the horizon is only 4.7 km (2.9 miles) away.
2.At a height of 100m, the horizon is 36 km (22 miles) away.
Therefore, if you standing on the beach and you see something on the surface of the sea, it is actually not very far away.