Are there any man made structures that can be seen from space?
There is a longstanding myth that the Great Wall of China is the only manmade object that is visible by an observer in space. However, this is a myth! The truth is that many human constructs can be seen from Space. If we take “space” to mean a low Earth orbit such as the one traveled by the Space Shuttle (roughly 160 to 350 miles above Earth), then an observer from the space shuttle with the aid of binoculars can easily see objects such as: airports, highways, bridges, components of the Kennedy Space Center and, even large ocean tankers. In addition, the largest cities are clearly visible to the human eye. Go to NASA’s Earth From Space photographic archive located at http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/efs/ and see for yourself pictures that have been taken from low orbit reveal human-built structures such as highways, airports, bridges, dams, and components of the Kennedy Space Center. At 250 miles (400 KM) high, the altitude of the International Space Station, one can no longer see the o
Many are familiar with the claim that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from space or from the moon with the naked eye. This is simply not true. From a low orbit of the earth, many artificial objects are visible on the earth, such as highways, ships in the sea, railroads, cities, fields of crops, and even some individual buildings. While at a low orbit, the Great Wall of China can be seen from space but it is not unique in that regard. Furthermore, when leaving the earth’s orbit and acquiring an altitude of more than a few thousand miles, no man-made objects are visible at all. NASA says, “The Great Wall can barely be seen from the Shuttle, so it would not be possible to see it from the Moon with the naked eye.” Thus, it’d be tough to spot the Great Wall of China or any other object from the moon. Furthermore, from the moon, even the continents are barely visible.
