How many times have you read a post stating "Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the moon with the naked eye". Received this as a part of 'amazing facts' e-mail from you friends?
Continue reading after the jump to find out the truth!
Well the truth is that no man-made structure is visible from space (after a certain height) let alone the moon! When close to the Earth, road networks and other large man-made objects are still visible. The apparent width of the Great Wall from the Moon's distance is the same as that of a human hair viewed from 2 miles (3.2 km) away.
Many astronauts claimed having seen the Great Wall of China, only to late realize that it was something else (including a river).
Based on a photo, China Daily reported that the Great Wall can be seen from space with the naked eye, under favorable viewing conditions, if one knows exactly where to look. However, the resolution of a camera can be much higher than the human visual system, and the optics much better, rendering photographic evidence irrelevant to the issue of whether it is visible to the naked eye.
Continue reading after the jump to find out the truth!
Well the truth is that no man-made structure is visible from space (after a certain height) let alone the moon! When close to the Earth, road networks and other large man-made objects are still visible. The apparent width of the Great Wall from the Moon's distance is the same as that of a human hair viewed from 2 miles (3.2 km) away.
Many astronauts claimed having seen the Great Wall of China, only to late realize that it was something else (including a river).
The only thing you can see from the moon is a beautiful sphere, mostly white (clouds), some blue (ocean), patches of yellow (deserts), and every once in a while some green vegetation. No man-made object is visible on this scale. In fact, when first leaving earth’s orbit and only a few thousand miles away, no man-made object is visible at that point either.
- Alan Bean (Astronaut)
Based on a photo, China Daily reported that the Great Wall can be seen from space with the naked eye, under favorable viewing conditions, if one knows exactly where to look. However, the resolution of a camera can be much higher than the human visual system, and the optics much better, rendering photographic evidence irrelevant to the issue of whether it is visible to the naked eye.
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