China denies wall can be seen.....

from orbit.

china has officailly decleard the the great wall of China cannot be seen from space and has orded all publishers to rectify this in any new books.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Maybe their cosmonaughts should open their eyes or get better cameras.

yeah, it can be seen. nothing's going on in china right now. they just want attention... and anything in the open can be seen from space. it's just a matter of how well.

no, actually it cannot be seen with the naked eye. the wall of china is 1/4 the size of a four lane hi-way, let alone a six lane one. and those cannot be seen from space.

Hi all!!

I *thought* this myth was already debunked??

Michael Collins
Astronaut Michael Collins wrote that there is a false notion that the Great Wall of China is visible from the Moon. Collins orbited around the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission, in 1969.

William Pogue
Astronaut William Pogue orbited the Earth in the Skylab space station, in 1973 to 1974. The altitude was about 300 miles above the Earth.
Pogue wrote that he could see the Great Wall if he used binoculars. It was not visible to the unaided eye, however.

Jay Apt

Space Shuttle Astronaut Jay Apt reported the following:
"We look for the Great Wall of China. Although we can see things as small as airport runways, the Great Wall seems to be made largely of materials that have the same color as the surrounding soil. Despite persistent stories that it can be seen from the moon, the Great Wall is almost invisible from only 180 miles up!"

All from here - though they *could* be telling untruths...

[Edited on 12-3-2004 by Genya]

I had heard that too. Then I read in some scientific mag that it wasn't true. I know that street lights can be seen from space, but the wall isn't lit.

Wow. Big announcement. Maybe they should think of more constructive things to do...like hit themselves in the head with ballpin hammers...

To further clarify why Chinese Astronaut Yang Liwei said what he did:

"There was a popular saying in China that the Great Wall was the only manmade architecture that could be sighted by naked eyes in space."

Interestingly enough:

"...some American astronauts who had entered space had denied this allegation when they visited China and gave lectures to the public."

www.china.org.cn...

In short, yeah, China needs to revamp their education books, in that, the Great Wall cannot be seen with the naked eye, other than from low orbit.
geography.about.com...


regards
seekerof

Originally posted by Seekerof
To further clarify why Chinese Astronaut Yang Liwei said what he did:

"There was a popular saying in China that the Great Wall was the only manmade architecture that could be sighted by naked eyes in space."

Interestingly enough:

"...some American astronauts who had entered space had denied this allegation when they visited China and gave lectures to the public."

www.china.org.cn...

In short, yeah, China needs to revamp their education books, in that, the Great Wall cannot be seen with the naked eye, other than from low orbit.
geography.about.com...


regards
seekerof

haha, who told u that we think so? and most reports like this show up in all kinds of posts seems that the author is trying to make jokes on us, the reason i think is simple. if China is sci-equal with US and civilized enough u will get less fun in daily life cause the silly guy there who makes u feel good and smart disappeared!

come on guys, use your head, is Chinese really that complacent?? can a nation like this be the third one who send man into space and once the most advanced civilization in the world???

don't tell me u still willing to believe these kinds of "been edited" reports on the "internet", u know what i mean?

[Edited on 17-3-2004 by taobo33]

[Edited on 17-3-2004 by taobo33]

I thought a good pair of binoculars and a keen sense of geography was all you needed. I have never been in orbit so I dont know. Any astronaughts/ ATS members here that can clear it up?

Welcome to ATS taobo33.
In such, and if you don't mind, what do Chinese educational books mention in respect to this?
Do they mention what Mr Liwei was quoted as saying above?


regards
seekerof

hi Seekerof~
here is what i was taught when i was in middle school in China:
The Great Wall is the only man-made architecture which can be seen from space(no binoculars needed)---that was ture before* ---yes and if you know any other achitecture can be seen like it i am glad and truly willing to know.(and you must have the proof as well

here is the news i read some days before on a Chinese news website: "because the Great Wall is lack of maintenance and suffer destruction by natural and man-made reasons, it's getting hard and even can't be seen from space by eyes like before. The official decided to started the maintenance work from October(i remembered it was October)."


i repeat, can been seen from space means people in the orbit can see it without binoculars or sth like that.

i think those are what i know, if u have any news plz share with me. i think it's reasonable and well proofed, besides nothing is eternity, like the rise and fall of a civilization, like the good feeling of a wonderful day.....why should we deny our Great wonder without sci-proof?
here is another link i found on this website, i hope u can read it and u will use ur heart and mind to choose which news are reliable and why such storys are so popular in US
www.abovetopsecret.com...
thanks Seekerof
regards


[Edited on 17-3-2004 by taobo33]

The story I always heard growing up was the Great Wall and the parking lots of Disney World could be seen from orbit. I have never been to China but can state that the Disney parking lot is HUGE! Snopes, the Urban Legends page, has a little article with some astronaut and NASA links. Link
Fun thread. Thanks for the insights, taobo33, et al.