Ri-chard Loc: 23322

1. Law of Perspective: The decrease in size and clarity of objects as they recede into the distance. Not over a curved earth.

2. Angular Resolution: Our eyes have a limited angular resolution, making it difficult to distinguish objects at very small angles. The minimum angle (0.2 arc minutes or 1*60 of a °) between two objects that can still be distinguished as separate.

3. Atmospheric Conditions: Weather, air pollution, and dust can reduce visibility and distort our view. Obstructions like fog, mist, or haze: These can reduce visibility and create a "whiteout" effect.

4. Light Diffraction: The bending of light around objects, which reduces the clarity of distant images.

5. Light Refraction: The change in direction of light as it passes through different mediums, such as air and water.

6. Light Diffusion: The scattering of light in various directions, reducing its intensity and clarity.

7. Optical Illusions: Our brains can play tricks on us, creating illusions like the "mirage effect" or "Fata Morgana".

8. Atmospheric Lensing: The bending of light as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere, causing objects to appear distorted, magnified, or displaced, and can create mirages, illusions, and other optical effects.

9. Natural Physical Obstructions: Objects like hills, mountains, and canyons that block our line of sight. Vegetation and trees: Dense forests and other vegetation can also obstruct our view.

10. Man-Made Obstructions: Buildings, bridges, and other structures can block our line of sight.

You can see much further with filtered lenses on a telescope across the sea level. Or the Great Lakes which are considered to be non-tidal - very flat for more miles of viewing..

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Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

Lake Michigan is 321 miles long and 118 miles at its widest.

From Chicago, viewing from 500 feet above sea level. a laser range finder would mark the horizon at around 27 miles. It should be obvious why you can't see the opposite shore?

Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

The most distant naked eye object in the night sky is the Andromeda galaxy (M31). It is 2.5 million light years from our Milky Way, and on a clear night with no moon, you don't need binos or telescopes to see it.

Ri-chard Loc: 23322

Thanks no curving lake at 27 miles and on a clear day how far do you think you can see across the flat lake with a telescope. What happen to your curve at 8 inches per mile sq,

How far away is the moon, and guess what I see with my telescope.

You need to go deep sea fishing and look at the coastline and tall buildings as you leave, and when the shoreline and tall building disappear from your eyesight ask the captain for his binoculars and guess what you will see again. Ask the captain how far from shore does his GPS say we are.

Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

It's still there.

The mean distance to the moon is 239,000 miles.

Fairies, unicorns, and gremlins.

Lake Tahoe is 22 miles long and 12 miles at its widest. Living in Reno, Tahoe wasn't far away, and boy how fun it was to go to Lake Tahoe.
Been there in all kinds of weather, spring, summer, fall and winter. Been there when the winds were howling and the sea was rough, and been there when the air was calm and the sea was like glass.
Been to every bar, beach, motel or marina around the entire perimeter of the lake.
And, no matter if the day was bright, clear, and calm, I never saw the opposite shore.
I could see the mountains and trees on the other side, but no shore line, no buildings or boats.
From Incline Village looking south toward the big South Shore Marina, never saw the mast of a sailboat or the top of any building.

Been out on the lake in all kinds of boats and even from the weather deck of a cruiser, if you are more than five miles from any shore, you won't see it.

Been at 35,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean, 350 miles from any coast or island, and all we could see was water.