horizon
- Related Topics:
- celestial sphere
horizon, in astronomy, boundary where the sky seems to meet the ground or sea. (In astronomy it is defined as the intersection on the celestial sphere of a plane perpendicular to a plumb line.) The higher the observer, the lower and more distant is his visible horizon. To one 5 feet (1.5 m) above the surface, the horizon is about 2.8 statute miles (4.5 km) away; and for one at 10,000 feet (3,048 m) altitude, it is about 126 miles (203 km). The distance in statute miles equals 1.224 times the square root of the height, in feet, above the surface. On bodies of different radius from that of the Earth, the horizon’s distance is also different; e.g., when the eye is 5 feet (1.5 m) above a level lunar plain, the horizon is only 1.4 miles (2.3 km) away.