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As the tide rises and falls, does the horizon appear to move towards and away from a person stading in the same place?

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susan | 06:01 Wed 12th May 2010 | Science
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Looking out to sea, the distance to the horizon is approximately given by the formula:

distance = 1.6 X sq.rt. (height above sea level)

where distance is in miles and height is in feet (this works well until you get to heights of several miles)

Thus if you stand in the same place as the sea level goes down then the distance to horizon increases.
I've remembered it wrong - the formula should be

distance = square root (1.5 X height above sea level)

so at 6' above sea level, distance to horizon is sqrt (1.5 X 6) = sqrt (9) = 3 miles
The distance that the horizon appears to be to someone standing on the shore depends on the height their eyes are above sea level. The higher they are the further away the horizon appears.

If they stand at low tide with their eyes 10 metres above the sea the horizon is about 11.3km distant, If they stand in the same spot at high tide and the tide has risen by 2 metres (so that their eyes are now only 8 metres above sea level) the horizon will appear to be about 10.1 km away.

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As the tide rises and falls, does the horizon appear to move towards and away from a person stading in the same place?

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