Solo – The Great Wall of China is often referred to as the only giant structure on the surface of the Earth that can be seen from outer space. But in fact, the astronauts dispute this.
Quoted from detikINET, Tuesday (21/2/2023), a former Commander at the International Space Station (ISS), Chris Hadfield, explained that several buildings on Earth can indeed be seen directly by astronauts in outer space. Interestingly, some can be seen directly with the naked eye without even using a lens.
However, it turns out that the Great Wall of China, which is so long that it is often referred to as a giant building, is not included in the structure that astronauts can see from outside the atmosphere.
Hadfield in tweetit has confirmed this and said the Great Wall of China was “too narrow + follows the contours & natural color” of geography.
Outer space can be defined as an area that uses the Karman Line which separates the Earth’s atmosphere and Space. The naming of this line comes from Theodore von Karman. Its location is 100 kilometers above the surface of the Earth.
Then what are the buildings that can be seen with the specification of the distance?
Quoted from CNBChere is a list of 4 buildings that can be seen from Space:
1. Bingham Canyon Mine
This area is a mine located about 32 km southeast of Salt Lake City. The mine is so large that it can be seen not only from the unaided Karman Line, but also from NASA space shuttles flying between 350-531 km above sea level.
2. Palm Jumeirah Dubai
This area which is a stretch of artificial islands has been claimed by NASA to be seen from the Karman Line. International Space Station (ISS) astronauts can attest to this expanse clearly using an 800 mm lens. For information, the ISS orbits with an average altitude of 400 km above sea level.
3. The Dark Pyramid
This pyramid is still being debated whether it can be seen from space or not. British astronaut Tim Peake said he couldn’t, but the massive structure could still be seen clearly through an 800 mm lens. On the other hand, former NASA astronaut and ISS commander, Leory Chiao claims that the Pyramids of Giza can be seen while in orbit.
“There’s a lot to see from the ISS, even with the naked eye,” he said. “For example, having found a large pyramid with a telephoto and being able to select two large ones with the naked eye, as long as the lighting and weather conditions are good, as two small dots,” he said again.
4. Three Gorges Dam
A dam stretching from China’s Yangtze River, NASA has revealed that its position can be seen from space. Reports from France 24 reveal this building has a height of up to 185 meters with a length of more than 2 km. This dam is known to be the largest electricity-producing facility in the world. Uniquely, the Three Gorges Dam is touted as the most expensive hydroelectric dam ever built.
This article was previously published on detikInet and rewritten by Genis Naila Alfunafisa participant of the Merdeka Campus Certified Internship Program at detikcom.
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