twjolson Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 I have an odd question. I am interested in knowing how far one can see at a given altitude. For instance if I am at the top of a tower or a mountian, how far can I see, not counting atmospheric limitations. I would guess there should be some sort of a calculation or equation that will spit out an answer. My question is, does anyone know of one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokingwreckage Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 With no limitation from atmosphere, you can see as far as photons can travel. I have no idea if that's right, but it was what I was told by my science teacher a very long time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vejlin Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 As mentioned atmosphere does most of the obscuring, but also the shape of the earth plays a role when looking really far. I've been told that the distances involved at sea (because of ne intervening terrain) means that a sailing ship can be seen because its sails stick up over the horizon while the hull is below. Never seen this myself though. The role atmosphere plays depends greatly on how much moisture is in the air, think of a foggy day when it's hard to see even 10 meters in front of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawgiver Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 Close: http://www.mar-it.de/Radar/Horcalc/horcalc.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airhead Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 at night, I can see stars and they are many light-years away - and that is from sea-level atmosphere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slidedog Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 People are always surprised at how far they can see in the Rocky Mtn region. Far less atmo than sea level and less moisture. From the little hill I live on up against the foothills I can easily see the airport's white tent roofs ( a distance of about 40 miles). Driving around Denver it's not uncommon to be able to see mountains (Like Pike's and Long's peaks) that are over 100 miles away. Line of sight around here is mostly limited by the horizon, but I know at lower altitudes, I've never been able to see nearly that far. Don't know how you'd calculate all of that though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twjolson Posted May 3, 2006 Author Share Posted May 3, 2006 I guess I should have been more articulate by saying how far I can see objects on the ground. Thanks guys for the help. Lawgiver seems to have hit it with his link. That pages gives a answer that seems resonable enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pae Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Like Slidedog, I live in Colorado. I'm a bit to the south of him, and Pikes Peak takes up a large chunk of the horizon line to my west. Then again, it's only about 20 miles away from me. Most days, I can see the Spanish Peaks to the south. They are probably 130 miles from my house. If it weren't for the Palmer Divide to the north of me, I'd probably be able to see Mt. Evans (a bit west of Denver) and Longs Peak (northwest of Boulder) to my north, along with a number of other thirteeners (and other unnotable peaks). It's amazing what a lack of moisture in the atmosphere will do to your visibility. For non-terrestrial objects, I think the most distant object you can see with your naked eye and actually discern as being an object is the Andromeda Galaxy, a mere 2 million light years away or so. You need to know where to look, and you need a really dark sky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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