nota: Equatorial radius of Earth = 6 378.137 km Polar radius of Earth = 6 356.752 km Mean radius = 6 371.0 kilometers
Height of the observer
Distance of the horizon
1 m
3 569 m
1.80 m
4 789 m
5 m
7 981 m
10 m
11 288 m
20 m
15 963 m
50 m
25 240 m
100 m
35 696 m
500 m
79 820 m
1 km
112 884 m
5 km
252 457 m
10 km
357 099 m
20 km
505 212 m
50 km
799 749 m
100 km
1 133 225 m
200 km
1 608 850 m
500 km
2 573 130 m
Horizon and curvature of the Earth
The horizon on Earth, is the line that limits the distant view. This line seems to separate the sky from the earth or the sea. The circular line of the horizon does not lie at an infinite distance to the contrary, it is quite close but the distance varies depending on the height of the observation. The observation line of the horizon is tangent to the surface and limits what can be observed because of his own position or situation. The horizon takes into account the curvature of the Earth.
nota: In astronomy, the cosmic horizon or cosmological horizon means the limit of the observable Universe from Earth.
Image: On this beautiful sunset far, you can see the curvature of the Earth's atmosphere. This image of the horizon of the Earth was taken by the crew of STS-129 Space Shuttle international. Image Credit: NASA