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KevBrads1
Saturday, March 26, 2016 11:15:19 AM

What is the furthest you have seen on a clear day with the naked eye (objects or clouds on Earth)?  Back in 2009 during mid June, I took a photo of an orphan anvil in the twilight sky from ground level. When I checked the radar to see where the shower could have been, it turned out it was over Dumfries and Galloway about 120 or so miles away. I have also seen anvils from my location from cells just off the east coast of Ireland.



 


Here's a website of what you can see and their distances from high points across the globe including the UK


http://viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas.html


 


MANCHESTER SUMMER INDEX for 2021: 238
Timelapses, old weather forecasts and natural phenomena videos can be seen on this site
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Retron
Saturday, March 26, 2016 11:32:13 AM


What is the furthest you have seen on a clear day with the naked eye (objects or clouds on Earth)?


Originally Posted by: KevBrads1 


Aside from being on a plane (which is kind of cheating):


Denali from Anchorage, visible as a faint outline on the horizon looking north (roughly).


In the UK, 7 or so miles from the top of the Shard. Unfortunately it was quite a humid day; one of those crisp, sparkling days would have afforded a view 3 or 4 times as far.


(Non-zoomed)



(Full zoom)



Leysdown, north Kent
idj20
Saturday, March 26, 2016 11:43:44 AM

If conditions are decent enough at this end, I could make out the colours on rows of houses on the French coast when viewed from my front garden with the naked eye (making sure that is the only part of me that is naked!).

With a long zoom camera, I might be able to spot the whites on a Frenchman's eyes as he leave his favourite bagel shop.


Folkestone Harbour. 
Bertwhistle
Saturday, March 26, 2016 11:46:22 AM

From the hills of Purbeck, we once marvelled at the view West on a cool, sunny day, with very clear vista to Weymouth and Portland, the sunlight twinkling on buildings beyond presumably around Lyme Bay, and yet further to an indistinct dark line which we debated could be the Devon coast/ hills although we also wondered if it might be haze/ pollutants. That's about 80k (50 miles).


Bertie, Itchen Valley.
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Retron
Saturday, March 26, 2016 11:47:10 AM


If conditions are decent enough at this end, I could make out the colours on rows of houses on the French coast when viewed from my front garden when viewed with the naked eyes.

With a long zoom camera, I might be able to spot the whites on a Frenchman's eyes as he leave his favourite bagel shop.


Originally Posted by: idj20 


Ah yes, the classic one was that you can read the time on the clock of the hôtel de ville in Calais from the tops of the cliffs in Dover - sadly the only time I've been up there was when it was chucking it down on a school trip many years ago!


You can see the white cliffs from the harbour in Calais though, I remember being astonished to see them from the window of the Pride of Burgandy before we'd even set off from Calais one early summer day in the 90s.


Leysdown, north Kent
Hungry Tiger
Saturday, March 26, 2016 11:48:10 AM


What is the furthest you have seen on a clear day with the naked eye (objects or clouds on Earth)?  Back in 2009 during mid June, I took a photo of an orphan anvil in the twilight sky from ground level. When I checked the radar to see where the shower could have been, it turned out it was over Dumfries and Galloway about 120 or so miles away. I have also seen anvils from my location from cells just off the east coast of Ireland.



 


Here's a website of what you can see and their distances from high points across the globe including the UK


http://viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas.html


 


Originally Posted by: KevBrads1 


That website is excellent - could spend hours looking at that. :-)


 


Gavin S. FRmetS.
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South Cambridgeshire. 93 metres or 302.25 feet ASL.


Phil G
Saturday, March 26, 2016 11:53:59 AM
Was on a camping holiday in the Lake District in June 92. There was high pressure to the north and winds were from the East for the whole duration. This resulted in crystal clear cloud free skies during the day and cold nights. Not sure what road it was as it would have been one of the white roads on the map, but was high up in the western fells and from one point could see the Isle of Man, the mountains of North Wales and Scotland.
Essan
Saturday, March 26, 2016 12:00:28 PM

When I was on the Monadh Liath above Newtonmore a couple of years back I could see Ben Klibreck (80 miles) and Ben Hope (90 miles).  But pretty sure I have seen further on occasion


Andy
Evesham, Worcs, Albion - 35m asl
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doctormog
Saturday, March 26, 2016 12:08:06 PM

I saw the sun last month, does this count?  (About 93 million miles or so)


Seriously though that link Kevin posted is great. I know I have seen for dozens of miles from the Scottish peaks at various times and on a clear day it really is amazing how far you can see.


lanky
Saturday, March 26, 2016 12:18:06 PM

You can often see Mount Rainier from Seattle as a slightly ghostly backdrop as I did in 1993


I think it's about 60-70 miles



Martin
Richmond, Surrey
Solar Cycles
Saturday, March 26, 2016 12:26:52 PM

What a great thread.

ARTzeman
Saturday, March 26, 2016 1:05:05 PM

As far as the moon when out in the daytime.






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Others just get wet.
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Bertwhistle
Saturday, March 26, 2016 1:22:09 PM


You can often see Mount Rainier from Seattle as a slightly ghostly backdrop as I did in 1993


I think it's about 60-70 miles



Originally Posted by: lanky 


That's an amazing sight and you're right- it's almost a spectral shadow. I reckon it's a bit closer than 60- less than 50 miles as the light flies.At such a distance, it does look huge.


Bertie, Itchen Valley.
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KevBrads1
Saturday, March 26, 2016 1:30:49 PM


 


That's an amazing sight and you're right- it's almost a spectral shadow. I reckon it's a bit closer than 60- less than 50 miles as the light flies.At such a distance, it does look huge.


Originally Posted by: Bertwhistle 


The link I provided gives it about 60 miles



 


MANCHESTER SUMMER INDEX for 2021: 238
Timelapses, old weather forecasts and natural phenomena videos can be seen on this site
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgrSD1BwFz2feWDTydhpEhQ/playlists
Bertwhistle
Saturday, March 26, 2016 1:50:44 PM


 


The link I provided gives it about 60 miles



 


Originally Posted by: KevBrads1 


Yes, I can see you're right- so much for my attempt at estimating it from a map. It looked so tall at that distance, I couldn't quite believe it. It does look huge in that picture.


Bertie, Itchen Valley.
Retire while you can still press the 'retire now' button.
Chunky Pea
Saturday, March 26, 2016 1:53:28 PM
I live on a low lying plain which gives me a good wide scope (if I was to go outside of town). Frequently see anvil clouds that impinge on the west coast which is over 50 miles away from me. During the summer, it would not be unusual for me to see anvils and other high clouds that are located over the north or east of Ireland.
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briggsy6
Saturday, March 26, 2016 11:37:11 PM

I know a clairvoyant who claims to see far into the future.


Location: Uxbridge
Roonie
Sunday, March 27, 2016 12:51:19 AM

If I am being serious......


On a clear day with arctic North Westerlies, it is possible to see the Wicklow mountains in Eire from Sea Level in Mid Wales ( Aberystwyth).. ..


Didn't believe it till In took aa bearing... Now seen it 3 or 4 times in the last few years.. !!!!



Still Lurking.......

North Worcestershire
snow 2004
Sunday, March 27, 2016 2:40:16 AM
When the air is clean and clear you can see the Welsh mountains from the hill (400m asl) near here. A good 80 miles or so.
Glossop Derbyshire, 200m asl
Lionel Hutz
Sunday, March 27, 2016 6:09:33 AM

I live on a low lying plain which gives me a good wide scope (if I was to go outside of town). Frequently see anvil clouds that impinge on the west coast which is over 50 miles away from me. During the summer, it would not be unusual for me to see anvils and other high clouds that are located over the north or east of Ireland.

Originally Posted by: Chunky Pea 


Presumably, it's  possible when you see a cloud near the horizon , to estimate how many miles away is the place where that cloud is directly overhead? I assume you can use some kind of simple mathematical formula based on the type of cloud and therefore estimating it's height? 


Lionel Hutz
Nr.Waterford , S E Ireland
68m ASL



Deep Powder
Sunday, March 27, 2016 7:21:02 AM
Yesterday! As we descended down to Chambery Lake we could see the Alps in the distance, some 50 to 60 miles away, glistening in the bright sunshine under crystal clear blue skies!
Near Leatherhead 100masl (currently living in China since September 2019)
Loving the weather whatever it brings, snow, rain, wind, sun, heat, all great!
Bow Echo
Sunday, March 27, 2016 7:36:05 AM


 


Presumably, it's  possible when you see a cloud near the horizon , to estimate how many miles away is the place where that cloud is directly overhead? I assume you can use some kind of simple mathematical formula based on the type of cloud and therefore estimating it's height? 


Originally Posted by: Lionel Hutz 


It is.


1.17 times the square root of your height of eye = Distance to the horizon in nautical miles 


Further info see here 


http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/distance.htm


Steve D. FRMetS
Burton Latimer, Kettering, Northants


picturesareme
Sunday, March 27, 2016 7:42:21 AM
I've seen anvil clouds from storms that are over northern France - that's over 120 miles away 😉

I've similarly seen them to my north from storms over Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire which is again in excess of 100 miles.
Seville3332
Sunday, March 27, 2016 10:08:40 AM
Don't forget aircraft. The angle, from position on the ground to 6 miles up allows a good distance...
Late in the day, with crisp conditions, contrails to the west of my location (Somerset) often prompt me to open up the planefinder app. Recently I did it and was surprised to see the plane I was watching was still about 10 miles south of exmouth, out the channel!
Rob K
Tuesday, March 29, 2016 12:22:23 PM

You can see the London skyline (notably The Shard, BT Tower and Canary Wharf) from the top of Caesar's Camp near Farnborough. Google Maps gives the distance as a little over 38 miles to Canary Wharf.

As Seville3332 says, you can also see the contrails of aircraft over huge distances, especially close to sunset when they catch the light. I've watched planes heading off to the west from my upstairs window and using flight tracking sites worked out that I can still see them when they reach mid Wales from here in Hampshire - roughly 125 miles.

Further afield, I've (just about) seen Kilimanjaro above the clouds from the upper slopes of Mt Kenya (almost exactly 200 miles). Very tall mountains with flat plains in between.


Yateley, NE Hampshire, 73m asl
"But who wants to be foretold the weather? It is bad enough when it comes, without our having the misery of knowing about it beforehand." — Jerome K. Jerome

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