No, that’s not Earth’s great circle, you’ll be turning slightly. It only seems straight on most map projections because they want latitudes to be horizontal.
It would, however, seem like a straight line to whoever was on the boat, because they’d be traveling due west the whole time, and the course corrections they’d have to make to keep going west would look the same as course corrections needed to account for wind, ocean currents, etc.
I know but you need to be the right amount of pedantic. Too little and any sufficiently large curve seems straight, too much and you point out that there is no straight line on the surface of a sphere.
Yeah but, I’m talking about this particular case, not making a mathematical rule. You have to move away from the coast, and then cannot turn, so you have to head towards Africa. You can’t set off toward Australia. Although I hadn’t considered that you can just move the starting point. So, there’s that.
Not to mention, India’s coastline is very much not straight on a local scale. You’re bound to find a place where it turns perpendicular to the journey close to the theoretical starting point anyway.
deleted by creator
The picture was about sailing the longest direct line.
It’s not the longest anyway, but that’s what it was about. Technically one could sail infinitely many times around Antarctica in a straight line.
No, that’s not Earth’s great circle, you’ll be turning slightly. It only seems straight on most map projections because they want latitudes to be horizontal.
It would, however, seem like a straight line to whoever was on the boat, because they’d be traveling due west the whole time, and the course corrections they’d have to make to keep going west would look the same as course corrections needed to account for wind, ocean currents, etc.
I know but you need to be the right amount of pedantic. Too little and any sufficiently large curve seems straight, too much and you point out that there is no straight line on the surface of a sphere.
Well, I stand corrected. I guess we’ll need to wait for the ice on the North pole to melt before we can make a more stupid voyage.
Because going in that route would make it touch land which in the twitter post it says straight line without touching land
deleted by creator
Alaska, Canada, Russia, a few on the -stans.
This is the longest straight-line all-water route on earth.
India. You would have to set off somewhat perpendicular to the Indian coastline to be perfectly straight.
For some reason I don’t think this is true.
A straight line connecting two things does not necessarily have to connect to said things perpendicular to their border.
Yeah but, I’m talking about this particular case, not making a mathematical rule. You have to move away from the coast, and then cannot turn, so you have to head towards Africa. You can’t set off toward Australia. Although I hadn’t considered that you can just move the starting point. So, there’s that.
Not to mention, India’s coastline is very much not straight on a local scale. You’re bound to find a place where it turns perpendicular to the journey close to the theoretical starting point anyway.
I’ve always thought Australia was a trouble maker.