[Twilliams1992]

Hi, so I have a question, if the earth is flat why can I not stand on Australia and with a telescope see the uk? Hypertheticaly speaking there is no mountain ranges or natural barriers in the way. If your theory was correct then this would be possible

[rabinoz]

Hi, so I have a question, if the earth is flat why can I not stand on Australia and with a telescope see the uk? Hypertheticaly speaking there is no mountain ranges or natural barriers in the way. If your theory was correct then this would be possible

Even through the cleanest air there is quite finite visibility distance.
Hence, whether the earth is flat or not you see more than a few hundred kilometres due to the Scattering of light in the air.

Visibility
In extremely clean air in Arctic or mountainous areas, the visibility can be up to 160 km (100 miles) where there are large markers such as mountains or high ridges. However, visibility is often reduced somewhat by air pollution and high humidity.

Visibility distance is of vital importance for aircraft pilots and this article treats that side: Introduction to atmospheric visibility estimation by Alec Bennett

[totallackey]

Hi, so I have a question, if the earth is flat why can I not stand on Australia and with a telescope see the uk? Hypertheticaly speaking there is no mountain ranges or natural barriers in the way. If your theory was correct then this would be possible

How do you conclude there are no mountain ranges in the line of sight?

How do you conclude the weather is a constant from your point of observation throughout the distance to the object being observed?

[LoveScience]

I have quite a lot of experience with telescopes having been an amateur astronomer for over 35 years. Obviously distance and line of sight is not an issue because I can see the mountains and craters of the Moon through any telescope from my garden.

What does limit how far and how clearly you can see directly over land is the state of the air between you and the target of interest. At my local nature reserve a bird that is a few metres away is clear and sharp but a building way off near the horizon is shimmering and blurred due to air turbulence. If the air were to cool and stablise the view would improve. As well as air stability, light scattering by the atmosphere comes into play as well. You have probably noticed how the clarity of the landscape gets increasingly hazy with distance even during colder weather when the air is more stable.

Land is a much better conductor of heat than water so it heats up much quicker. That is evident from the mirages and shimmering you see in the distance along a road where the surface has been heated by the Sun.  Seeing conditions over distance at sea will generally be better than the same distance would be over land. 


So going back to my initial point about distance.  If you ignored the effects of air turbulence and refraction over such a large distance as Australia from the UK AND the UK was in a direct line of sight (assuming flat and no other obstacles in the way) then yes a telescope would show the UK. However add the effects of air turbulence and light scattering back into the equation and there is no way it would work even if the surface was completely flat.  In reality it doesn't work for another very good reason but I will let you figure that one out!

[Venus]

Hi, so I have a question, if the earth is flat why can I not stand on Australia and with a telescope see the uk? Hypertheticaly speaking there is no mountain ranges or natural barriers in the way. If your theory was correct then this would be possible

Obviously Australia to UK is a huge distance... but it should be possible to see the multi storey buildings along the coast of West Palm Beach (in Florida) from Myrtle Beach (North Carolina) a distance of 500km with a telescope on a clear day ... IF the earth was flat!! Any takers??

[Curiosity File]

One place to test the telescope theory is from mountain top to mountain as at altitude there's less chance air quality or ground mirage effect will hinder your view, as these are some of the things FET claims are the problem.
Hawaiian Islands is a great place for this kind of experiment.

Hawaiian islands: the peak known as Kawaikini. If you were to draw a straight line from Mauna Kea (elevation: 13,796 ft.) to Kawaikini (elevation: 5226 ft.) it would span a distance of 303 miles.
However, you cannot see one from the other, which you would absolutely be able to do if the Earth were flat. With a curved Earth of its measured radius, the line-of-sight limit for those two elevations caps out at 233 miles. Only with a curved Earth is one invisible from the other, and this is true for any two mountain peaks with clear line-of-sights from one to the other.

I can also tell you, where I live, looking west from 4,000 feet in elevation 10 miles to the west  there is a ridge of mountains 1,500 feet, passed that to the west is the Pacific Ocean. If the Earth were flat I could see the ocean with or without a telescope. I can not see it.     

[Spherical1970]

The moon laser is powerful enough to hit a weather balloon at 20k feet from its mountain top if the earth was flat. It's a fairly cheap experiment and would prove the flat earth theory once and for all?

Hi, so I have a question, if the earth is flat why can I not stand on Australia and with a telescope see the uk? Hypertheticaly speaking there is no mountain ranges or natural barriers in the way. If your theory was correct then this would be possible

Even through the cleanest air there is quite finite visibility distance.
Hence, whether the earth is flat or not you see more than a few hundred kilometres due to the Scattering of light in the air.

Visibility
In extremely clean air in Arctic or mountainous areas, the visibility can be up to 160 km (100 miles) where there are large markers such as mountains or high ridges. However, visibility is often reduced somewhat by air pollution and high humidity.

Visibility distance is of vital importance for aircraft pilots and this article treats that side: Introduction to atmospheric visibility estimation by Alec Bennett

[totallackey]

Hi, so I have a question, if the earth is flat why can I not stand on Australia and with a telescope see the uk? Hypertheticaly speaking there is no mountain ranges or natural barriers in the way. If your theory was correct then this would be possible

Obviously Australia to UK is a huge distance... but it should be possible to see the multi storey buildings along the coast of West Palm Beach (in Florida) from Myrtle Beach (North Carolina) a distance of 500km with a telescope on a clear day ... IF the earth was flat!! Any takers??

Any takers on what?

The farthest anyone can see, even in optimal conditions, is approximately 300km.

[Curiosity File]

Hi, so I have a question, if the earth is flat why can I not stand on Australia and with a telescope see the uk? Hypertheticaly speaking there is no mountain ranges or natural barriers in the way. If your theory was correct then this would be possible

Obviously Australia to UK is a huge distance... but it should be possible to see the multi storey buildings along the coast of West Palm Beach (in Florida) from Myrtle Beach (North Carolina) a distance of 500km with a telescope on a clear day ... IF the earth was flat!! Any takers??

Any takers on what?

The farthest anyone can see, even in optimal conditions, is approximately 300km.

I can see Mt Shasta(14,180 feet) at 4,500 feet in elevation from about 200 miles away without a telescope. Judging by how easily I can see it I would say I could easily see it at 400 miles away if it weren't for the curvature of the earth obscuring it.
More proof is you can see the moon at near 240,000 miles away even through ALL atmospheric conditions including air pollution at line of sight at the horizon, without a telescope. Even if it were only the "claimed by FET &FES wiki 3,000 miles up and thousand miles to the horizon" that's still a long ways.
You can also see the ISS easily with a telescope at 250 miles up and thousands of miles off to the horizon. 

 "You cannot see Kawaikini from the peak of Mauna Kea. Mauna Kea, the highest peak in Hawaii (the summit of the Big Island), offers incredible views. With nothing but the ocean around it, and a few other nearby islands, you should be able to see extremely far away. The island of Kauai has the seventh highest point in the Hawaiian islands: the peak known as Kawaikini. If you were to draw a straight line from Mauna Kea (elevation: 13,796 ft.) to Kawaikini (elevation: 5226 ft.) it would span a distance of 303 miles.

However, you cannot see one from the other, which you would absolutely be able to do if the Earth were flat. With a curved Earth of its measured radius, the line-of-sight limit for those two elevations caps out at 233 miles. Only with a curved Earth is one invisible from the other, and this is true for any two mountain peaks with clear line-of-sights from one to the other."

ALL known PROVEN facts.