Line of sight on surface of Sun

LINE OF SIGHT ON SURFACE OF SUN

INTRODUCTION

Sun is a star which is in the center of our solar system that has a mean radius of 695,700 km. Although the equatorial radius is not equal to its polar radius, we can approximate the Sun as a sphere. Any object on the surface of sphere has a finite view due to the curvature of the sphere. Thus any one can view only up to a finite distance before the horizon. The horizon is itself defined on the height of the object, the greater the height the more the view. In this article, we intend to determine the line of sight for an average human being on the surface of Sun assuming that he can withstand extreme temperature and gravity conditions.

ASSUMPTIONS

1.      The surface of Sun is smooth

2.      Sun is a homogeneous sphere

3.      The atmosphere is clear and vision is not obscured

4.      Light does not undergo diffraction and refraction

5.      Space time around Sun is not curved but flat

6.      The observer is at ground level

CALCULATION

Fig .1

From Figure .1,

R – Radius of Sun [m]                                                                                                                               

R = 695,700 Km = 695,700,000 m (Eq. 1)

h – Height of the observer [m]

h = 5 feet

   = 1.5 m (Eq. 2)

                                                                                                                               {⸪ 1 feet = 0.3 m}

d – Observable distance by observer [m]                                                                                         

We can apply Pythagorean Theorem,

d² = (R+h)² – R² (Eq. 3)

d² = 2Rh + h²

d = √ (2Rh+h²) (Eq. 4)

Now substitute equations (1), (2) in equation (4)

d = √ (2*695700000*1.5+1.5²)

d = 45,684.7896 m

d = 45.6847 Km = [28.3701 miles]

This is the distance that can be viewed by an observer on the surface of Sun provided there aren't any solar storms to obscure the vision.

CONCLUSION

We thus determined the line of sight or field of view for an observer on the surface of Sun.