Hey i have a quick question um On most maps the shortest distance form rome italy to new your city appears to be a stright line accrost. how ever this is not the shortest distance the shortest distance is through the middle of france over the north alatnic past newfoundland through novis socia and then to new york. Why is this?

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line *in all 3 dimensions*. Due to the curvature of the Earth, it is not possible to travel in a straight line across large distance, and it becomes shorter to travel along a curved path to reduce the distance caused by Earth's curve.

*in 4 dimensions*

No particular time coordinate makes the trip noticeably shorter.

sleep time

The lines planned try to conform to the path a line tracing the circumferance of the earth that touches both points (departure and destination). This is the 'flattest' path, any other path would travel along an arc with a shorter radius, which is more curved. There are always two of these paths, one to the left and one to the right, which gives some flexibility to avoid certain airspace.