Have you ever wondered how far can you see to the horizon from an elevated position ? Using simple trigonometry the distance to the horizon along the Earth's surface can be easily determined. Two cases are considered: (i) light travels in a straight line and (ii) light travels along a curved path as a result of atmospheric refraction. In both cases it will be assumed that the Earth is a sphere resulting in a circular cross section when examining the problem in two dimensions.

$\pi$ is a mathematical constant defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. There are many other definitions including the ratio of the area of a circle to the square of its radius. It is a constant that also appears in many formulae used in mathematics, physics and engineering.