4 ms·
This is too simplistic of an approach. Suppose there is another 6km tall mountain just beyond the horizon, it will have a farther line of site to the peak of i
by gmiller123456 9y ago
This is too simplistic of an approach. Suppose there is another 6km tall mountain just beyond the horizon, it will have a farther line of site to the peak of it than to the horizon just in front of it. This list seems to be a much more rigorous attempt.
- btilly 9y agoToo simplistic of an approach for what? It is meant to show how to calculate the position of the horizon on a smooth planet. Obviously your line of sight typically includes tall things beyond the horizon. However this calculation lets you know both how far away your horizon is, and how far beyond that a tall object could be seen if nothing else was in the way. Which puts an upper limit on how far away it can be. A little bit of elementary geometry gives you a lot more than I expected it would the first time I amused myself by figuring the calculation. Actually finding those points requires a lot more work, which this list does.
- Nition 9y agoI think gmiller123456 just missed the fact that you did account for a second mountain over the horizon. Your post was great, thanks for writing it up.