A&E ran a “top 10” about architectural marvels over the weekend, number 2 was the Great Wall. They claimed that it was the only man-made object visible from the moon. When will they ever learn. http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_092.html
Some stories just won’t die. I can’t believe A&E doesn’t use a research staff to check out their “facts” before they air them, misinforming another generation.
Hey, the Great Wall is visible from the moon. Last time I was there, I pointed my trusty 50x telescope at east Asia, and presto, there was the wall.
You’re right though, seeing it with the naked eye would be pretty unrealistic. In the link, the last writer makes the claim that you might be able to see a city from the moon, arguing that a city is a man-made object big enough to form sufficient visual arc. I disagree. A city is a loose, irregular group of relatively teensy objects, which cast shadows on each other, are different colors, etc. Could you see the city? Sure, it would look like a patch of grey, brown, and green, sort of like farmland, or countryside, or a forest in autumn. You just wouldn’t be able to identify it. Which pixel on your screen is the light gray one? No not that one, the one three to the left and one down…
Yeah, but at night, if the city had all the lights on…
Isn’t that how come we see only see the stars at night? 'Cause that’s when they turn on the lights to party? … the brighter the star, the bigger the party.