How Far?

[Zachary Smith]

If one is at the north pole, you can go no further in any direction (discounting "up") without getting closer to the south pole. If we assume the earth's surface to be smooth (I know that it's not) what's the average maximum distance one can get from a given point before beginning to approach it again? Anyone know?

 

[STR]

This is basic geometry. You start at 7,926 miles, which is the diameter of the earth. Multiply by pi and divide by 2 to get the "as the crow flies" measurement of the circumference. That's at the equator, the poles are about 25 miles closer than that because the earth bulges at the equator.

If you want the average, that'd be 7,913 miles (the mean of the polar and equatorial diameters), multiplied by pi and divided by 2, yields 12,430 miles, rounded to the nearest mile.

 

[Zachary Smith]

^^

TY