# Origin of 'You can see the Great Wall of China from Space'.

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-you-can-see-the-great-wall-of-china-from-space/751406
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 7, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-you-can-see-the-great-wall-of-china-from-space/751406 "2016-04-07T02:37:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-you-can-see-the-great-wall-of-china-from-space/751406/1 "2016-04-07T02:37:32Z")

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As reported by the astronauts themselves, it cannot be seen from space.

Did someone inadvertently spill the beans, since they were looking at\* satellite photos \*, where it would be quite visible ‘from Space’.

Does anyone know where this myth started?

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### Author: ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2016, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-you-can-see-the-great-wall-of-china-from-space/751406/2 "2016-04-07T02:40:38Z")

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> [@chacoguy](#):
>
> As reported by the astronauts themselves, it cannot be seen from space.
> 
> Did someone inadvertently spill the beans, since they were looking at\* satellite photos \*, where it would be quite visible ‘from Space’.
> 
> Does anyone know where this myth started?

[Not exactly a myth](http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/workinginspace/great_wall.html), but a greatly oversimplified fact.

[Not sure the origin,though. Maybe it gained currency from Trivial Pursuit, maybe?]

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### Author: ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-you-can-see-the-great-wall-of-china-from-space/751406/3 "2016-04-07T03:10:52Z")

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Dang, that’s a good link. Still, the question remains; as evidenced by the fact that they were asking the First Chinese Astronaut if he could see the thing.

They wouldn’t ask that from the First Yugoslav.

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### Author: ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-you-can-see-the-great-wall-of-china-from-space/751406/4 "2016-04-07T03:21:42Z")

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The [Snopes article](http://www.snopes.com/science/greatwall.asp) mentions that books published in 1904 and 1938 claim it would be visible from the moon.

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### Author: ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2016, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-you-can-see-the-great-wall-of-china-from-space/751406/5 "2016-04-07T11:39:34Z")

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[Cecil’s Straight Dope article on this subject.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/417/is-the-great-wall-of-china-the-only-manmade-object-you-can-see-from-space)