<p>Looking up at say a cumulus cloud at a height of 2km which covers say 10 degrees of the visible sky, what is the easiest way to estimate its rough size at its base?</p>

<p>Simply put, how large is the arc of visible sky viewed from the surface?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-11T16:24:04.500Z
The 10 degrees of visible sky- is that supposed to be in steradians?
BarocliniCplusplus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-12T18:05:28.487Z
That would give the size in square meters I guess, so yes that would also be good. Basically I just want to satisfy my curiosity when I look at a cloud to know how big it is as I have no idea - 100kms, 10km, 10meters who knows? From horizon to horizon, how far is that? How long will it take that air-plane to cross that cloud, etc.
Peter Brand
<clouds>
How to estimate size of cloud formation
Peter Brand
# How to estimate size of cloud formation

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-11-09)

Looking up at say a cumulus cloud at a height of 2km which covers say 10 degrees of the visible sky, what is the easiest way to estimate its rough size at its base?

Simply put, how large is the arc of visible sky viewed from the surface?

**Tags:** clouds

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The 10 degrees of visible sky- is that supposed to be in steradians?  
> **username_0**: That would give the size in square meters I guess, so yes that would also be good. Basically I just want to satisfy my curiosity when I look at a cloud to know how big it is as I have no idea - 100kms, 10km, 10meters who knows? From horizon to horizon, how far is that? How long will it take that air-plane to cross that cloud, etc.  

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## 0 answers

