Terrain visibility analysis
Can you see the Brocken from Hanover?
Short answer: No, from this exact point at Kröpcke in central Hanover. Modelled terrain about 300 m southeast of the square blocks the line to the Brocken summit.
Can you see the Brocken from central Hanover? Sightelo analyses the 87.8 km line from Kröpcke square and finds blocking terrain.
This result applies only to the studied point at Kröpcke. Moving a few hundred metres or using a higher viewpoint may change the terrain horizon; Sightelo does not assign this verdict to all of Hanover.
View the calculation in SighteloKey figures
- Observation point
- Kröpcke square, central Hanover, Germany
- Latitude, longitude: 52.374458, 9.738697
- Eye height: 1.7 m
- Point of interest
- Brocken, Germany
- Target elevation
- 1,141 m
- Straight-line distance
- 87.8 km
- Direction to the summit
- 136.5° (southeast)
- Blocking terrain at
- 300 m
- Modelled summit clearance
- -1,413 m
Terrain profile and line of sight
Detailed profile
Scroll horizontally to explore the full profile on a small screen.
- Calculated terrain
- Observer–summit sight line
- Minimum visibility line
- 0 m reference (modelled curvature)
The calculated obstacle is 0.2997 km from A. It rises 4.8 m above the sight line locally; the projected deficit at the summit is 1413.3 m. These are different quantities.
Minimum line off scale — Nearby terrain requires a minimum target altitude of 2554.3 m, above the summit's actual 1141.0 m. The minimum visibility line continues beyond the chart without changing its slope.
Calculated profile values
| Distance (km) | 87.8 km |
|---|---|
| Observer eye altitude | 57.7 m |
| Summit altitude | 1141.0 m |
| Minimum visible target altitude | 2554.3 m |
| Target margin above the modelled horizon | -1413.3 m |
| Minimum local sight-line clearance | -4.8 m |
| Displayed / calculated samples | 500 / 880 |
| Excluded around A / B | 200 m / 1500 m |
| Blocking obstacle | 0.2997 km |
Audited calculation: 2026-10-09. The interactive calculator can recalculate with currently available elevation data.
What this example helps you study
The modelled line toward the Harz crosses slightly higher ground very close to Kröpcke, about 300 m from the observer. The Brocken therefore falls below the calculated terrain horizon from this exact point, even before considering buildings or haze. Another place in Hanover may give a different result.
Terrain about 300 m away defines the modelled horizon. At the Brocken, the summit is about 1,413 m below the minimum elevation needed to clear that horizon from this point.
Limits of interpretation
The calculation models terrain, Earth curvature and standard atmospheric refraction. It does not model buildings, trees, clouds, haze or local atmospheric variations.
Technical details
- Observation point coordinates
- 52.374458, 9.738697
- Summit coordinates
- 51.799130, 10.615640
- Terrain model
- Copernicus DEM 90
- Eye height
- 1.7 m
- Refraction used
- Standard (k = 0.13)
- Sample step
- 100 m
- Uncertainty threshold
- 30 m
- Observer exclusion radius
- 200 m
- Requested summit exclusion radius
- 600 m
A positive value means the summit clears the modelled terrain horizon. A negative value means the summit lies below the minimum elevation required to clear that horizon. This value is not the local height of blocking terrain above the sight line.