Can we hover and wait for the destination to arrive?

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helmi
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If the Earth rotates 1670km/hr why can't I just hover high enough (assuming there's enough fuel) and wait for my destination to arrive? Haha
 

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The whole planet rotates, including the atmosphere, as one unit. Not just the solid part.

If this were not the case, then we'd have a constant 1670 km/h westward wind blowing all the time as the whole atmosphere slid past us, which would be pretty ridiculous. From the perspective of people on the plane it sounds reasonable at first. You hover stationary relative to the air while the ground rotates underneath you. But consider the same situation from the perspective of people on the ground. As soon as the plane launches, it gets blown away towards its destination by this tremendous and ever-present wind.
 
cepheid said:
The whole planet rotates, including the atmosphere, as one unit. Not just the solid part.

If this were not the case, then we'd have a constant 1670 km/h westward wind blowing all the time as the whole atmosphere slid past us, which would be pretty ridiculous. From the perspective of people on the plane it sounds reasonable at first. You hover stationary relative to the air while the ground rotates underneath you. But consider the same situation from the perspective of people on the ground. As soon as the plane launches, it gets blown away towards its destination by this tremendous and ever-present wind.

that makes perfect sense, thanks cepheid :smile: