# Flying thru the Luxor Sky Beam?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-thru-the-luxor-sky-beam/1024310>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 26, 2025, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-thru-the-luxor-sky-beam/1024310 "2025-10-26T19:26:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-thru-the-luxor-sky-beam/1024310/21 "2025-10-27T16:43:00Z")

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> [@dtilque](#):
>
> Due to the curvature of the Earth

Of course. I can’t believe this didn’t occur to me. I’ve been here over twenty years. This is taking longer than I thought

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**Author:** ![Timz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Timz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timz)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-thru-the-luxor-sky-beam/1024310/22 "2025-10-27T19:14:29Z")

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> [@yendis](#):
>
> Almost certainly, pilots hit by searchlights in WW2 could tell when they were being lit up.

Sure – if the beam isn’t vertical, everyone can see it. A vertical beam would be visible in the smoke, of course, but the pilot wouldn’t be dazzled by it. Likewise for an airliner – none of the windows let the pilots see vertically downward.

Wonder if there are enough particulates at 35000 feet for the Luxor beam to be side-view visible on a cloudless night.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-thru-the-luxor-sky-beam/1024310/23 "2025-10-27T20:46:16Z")

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> [@Timz](#):
>
> Wonder if there are enough particulates at 35000 feet for the Luxor beam to be side-view visible on a cloudless night.

Particulates like dust & pollution are pretty rare above 30K’ and more often above 25K.

But thin clouds of ice crystals = cirrus are common above 25K all the way up to the stratosphere & a bit beyond.

Cirrus does a great job of scattering visible light.

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