Imaginary line that separates the land from the sky and the land from the sea
The term horizon is designated as the line that apparently separates the sky from the earth.. Although viewed from different angles, this line is always well seen at the level of the viewer's eyes.
Undoubtedly, this is its most common and used meaning, the visual line that we all swear to see, although of course, it is an unreal, imaginary line that our eyes propose to us and that as we said indicates the border between earth and sky or well between the land and the sea, whether we are located on land or in the waters, respectively.
Also, at circular space on the surface of the terrestrial globe that is enclosed in the aforementioned line it is called the horizon.
Horizon types
Meanwhile, various types of horizons are discussed according to the viewer's point of view ...
The apparent horizon, which is a plane tangent to the earth's surface from the point of observation; the sensible or real horizonIt will depend and will be determined by the landscape that the territory in question presents, that is, it will depend on the mountains, the buildings and any other geographical feature or building circumstance; the geometric horizon, it will be the conical surface that the observer's own visual generates when it is directed to the surface of the distant land; and the distant horizon or physicalIt will be the one that will be determined by atmospheric refraction (both the sun and the stars can be seen above their real position) and that facilitates the look below the real horizon.
The importance of the horizon arises from being a fundamental plane when it comes to the location of some celestial coordinates, since the maximum precision can be obtained from its correct establishment; this turns out to be the case for geocentric horizontal coordinates.
When we see that the sun is touching the sea, we say that the horizon is low and what is seen then is its refracted image, because the sun is on our optical horizon, below the geometric one.
Synonym of limit
The concept can also be used as a synonym for limit. With some examples we will see this sense more clearly: "their horizon of knowledge is very wide", in this case wanting to know how far someone's knowledge reaches, from the above, it is understood that they are very vast.
"The political horizon of the new government will be marked by the acceptance of its measures", in this case it will be wanted to express that the success of the management will depend on the application of successful government measures or not.
Possibilities presented by a topic
On the other hand, set of possibilities or perspectives presented by an issue or subject it is often called the horizon. It should be noted that these possibilities or expectations may be better or worse depending on the personal capacities of the people or the context in which the action should be developed. "With such appointments at the head of the most important ministries, the horizon of his management raises very little hope." "Maria has a formidable career horizon."
Levels into which the floor is divided
Probably another less known use of this word allows us to name those materials that have been transformed by various factors and which then differentiate the levels of the ground itself.
Those soils that are located in areas that do not present external climates generally have three horizons; the determination will be given by fossil elements contained in its structure. Horizon A would be the closest to the surface, it is dark in color as a consequence of containing a lot of organic material.
The next horizon, called B, is clearer because it precisely lacks biological material and in it the material of the previous horizon is deposited after being washed by the rains. And the C horizon is the deepest and is made up of clay, pebbles, sand, and blocks of rock.
