Lengthening your horizons.

April 4, 2011 1:35 PM

How close is the horizon on the moon? On Mercury? On Mars?

Assume a clear day and perfectly flat terrain. How does size and curve (do all planets have roughly the same curve?) affect how far you can see?

posted by curious nu to Science & Nature (2 answers total)

Best answer: Someone else has an online calculator that will do this for you. Just plug in your height and the radius of the planet.
posted by vacapinta at 1:48 PM on April 4, 2011

Response by poster: So I plugged some numbers into the calculator (thanks, vacapinta!). At a height of 30 meters (roughly ten stories) you can see:

on Earth: ~19.5 km
on the Moon: ~10 km
on Mercury: ~12.1 km
on Mars: ~14.2 km

Thanks!
posted by curious nu at 5:31 PM on April 4, 2011