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Horizon Distance Calculator

Field · free · runs in your browser

From a beach you see about 5 km; from a summit, hundreds. Enter your eye height, the height of a distant subject (a peak, a lighthouse, a skyline) and its distance to see whether it's visible and how much is hidden below the horizon.

Includes standard atmospheric refraction.

Distance to horizon
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Max visible distance to target
—
Hidden part of target
—

How it works

Horizon ≈ 3.86·√h km (h in m, with refraction). Hidden height ≈ ((d − 3.86√h₁) ÷ 3.86)² m.

FAQ

Why use refraction?
The atmosphere bends light slightly downward, so you see a little farther than geometry alone suggests.

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