by Jne_K on Mon Jan 15, 2007 9:49 am
Hi
The curvature of the earth makes this impossible. It's basic physics. At a distance of only 15 miles, a 100-foot-tall ship is not visible, due to the curvature of the earth. At a distance of only a little more than three miles, the curvature of the earth makes it impossibel to see another man.
Even if you climbed a tower to see these opbjects, the atmosphere still puts a pratical limit on how much magnification you can use and how much detail you can see. Atmospheric turbulence in the form of heat waves, air currents, dust and humidity all seriously degrade an image and the greater the distance and/or the greater the magnification, the greater the image degrades. In practice, no optical instrument will allow you to see details on a man's face at one mile, let alone three.
Hi
The curvature of the earth makes this impossible. It's basic physics. At a distance of only 15 miles, a 100-foot-tall ship is not visible, due to the curvature of the earth. At a distance of only a little more than three miles, the curvature of the earth makes it impossibel to see another man.
Even if you climbed a tower to see these opbjects, the atmosphere still puts a pratical limit on how much magnification you can use and how much detail you can see. Atmospheric turbulence in the form of heat waves, air currents, dust and humidity all seriously degrade an image and the greater the distance and/or the greater the magnification, the greater the image degrades. In practice, no optical instrument will allow you to see details on a man's face at one mile, let alone three.
