Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Great Wall of China is the Only Man Made Object Visible from the Moon


This myth originated in Richard Haliburton's book, "The Second Book of Marvles". This myth is controversial because some say that several man made objects are visible from the moon and others say that the Great Wall of China is the only man made object visible from the moon, these are only a couple of several perspectives. An astronaut was even quoted at about.com saying that no man made objects were visible from the moon. This myth exists mainly because people have so many different theories that it is hard to tell what is true or not.
As far as science goes, it is said that the Great Wall of China is visible from a low orbit as are others such as highways, ships, roads and cities. Also, after leaving an altitude of a few thousand miles or more, no man made objects are visible at all. However there are many different theories on this including at zyra.com. The moon is technically about 384,403 kilometers from the earth (238,857 miles).
In about.com's article about the Great Wall of China, Matt Rosenburg says that in a low orbit, the wall is visible from the moon however other things are as well. At space.com, Robert Roy Britt claims that many things such as highways, airports and dams are visible from an orbit of about 135 miles (217 kilometers). At space.com, they quote astronaut Ed Lu, he says that the Great Wall of China is visible however it is less visible than some objects and you need to know where to look. So, the wall is visible from the moon, however depending on where you are, it is not the only visible man made object.

Here, the Great Wall is barely
visible, in the 3 spots indicated,
at an orbit of about 200 miles.

Here, the wall is

visible from an orbit

of about 600 km.