[at-l] Question about WOW pic

[jbryankramer@xxxxxxx (J Bryan Kramer)]

The distance you can see to the horizon is calculated based on a simple
formula:

Distance formula: d * d = 12.75 * h
where d = distance to the horizon ( in kilometers)
and h = height above sea level ( in meters)

so 16,000 feet = about 4900 meters and the distance then would be:

d= sqrt(12.75 * 4900) = 249 km

one degree at the equator = 60 miles = 102 km so you gain 2.5 degrees by
being on top of the mountain

The reference I found gives the latidtude of Kilimanjaro as 3 deg south and
Polaris is actualy about a degree off the actual pole so you should just be
able to make out Polaris which would be right on the horizon. It would be
darn hard to see and you'd only be able to see it at the right time of the
year.

Bryan


"Si vis pacem para bellum"

> "Inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere can't see Polaris, even
> if they just
> live one degree south of the Equator, and they don't have a pole star they
> can call their own. There's nothing even close to the South Pole. A couple
> of faint stars are about 10 degrees from the South Pole, but the nearest
> star of equivalent brightness to Polaris is nearly 15 degrees from the
> pole."
>
> Mt. Kilimanjaro, where the photo was taken, is in  Tanzania, in
> the southern
> Hemisphere about 5 degrees south of the equator (130 miles south
> of Nairobi)
> and as the photographer's story goes, Polaris can be seen on the
> left of the
> photo. Could this be because of the 16,000 ft. altitude of
> Kilimanjaro gives
> a view above the curvature of the earth? Inquiring minds want to know.
> Whazup?
>
> SLIM aka Nancy
>
>
>
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