Here is a concise summary of the provided text:
**Title:** Why Planes Avoid Flying Over the Pacific Ocean
**Main Reasons:**
1. **Safety:** Lack of emergency landing airports over the Pacific, increasing response time in case of emergencies.
2. **Route Efficiency:** The Earth's curvature makes curved routes (great circle routes) shorter than straight lines on a map, often avoiding the Pacific.
3. **Earth's Rotation:** Flying with the Earth's rotation (eastward) is faster than flying against it (westward), as planes benefit from the Earth's approximately 1,600 km/h rotation speed.
4. **Air Currents (Jet Streams):** Planes traveling with these high-altitude winds (eastward) gain speed, while flying against them (westward) increases flight time.
**In Summary:** Airlines avoid flying over the Pacific Ocean due to a combination of safety concerns, the Earth's curvature affecting optimal flight routes, the planet's rotation, and the impact of air currents on flight efficiency.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text, numbered and in short sentences:
**Geography and Mapping**
1. The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean in the world.
2. Maps can be distorted, especially when representing a 3D world in 2D.
3. The Mercator projection, created in 1569, is a common map projection that distorts size and shape.
4. Greenland, Alaska, Brazil, and the African continent are often misrepresented in size on maps.
**Aviation and Route Planning**
5. Drawing a straight line on a map does not always represent the shortest flight route.
6. Due to the Earth's spherical shape, curved routes can be shorter than straight lines.
7. Pilots use a curved route, often appearing as a "rainbow" on a map, to fly more efficiently.
8. The shortest route can be demonstrated using a globe and a piece of string.
**Safety and Emergency Landings**
9. The lack of airports for emergency landings over the Pacific Ocean poses a safety concern.
10. Planes can fly for 3-6 hours on one engine, depending on the aircraft and airline.
11. Emergency landings can be due to various reasons, including medical emergencies.
**Earth's Rotation and Air Currents**
12. The Earth rotates at approximately 1,600 km/h at the equator.
13. Planes flying west are effectively traveling slower (around 675 km/h) due to the Earth's rotation.
14. There are four major air currents (jet streams) in the world, two in each hemisphere.
15. Jet streams can either aid or hinder plane travel, depending on the flight direction, with speeds of 130-225 km/h.
16. Winter jet streams are generally faster, affecting flight times.