Okay, so my friends and myself have been having this debate for a few months now, on and off when we're bored. Here is the question:
Imagine that you standing in the center of a large room, with a roof above your head. Its nighttime and all four of the walls of this room are made of glass. So a satellite in the sky can't see you from directly above the building. But, from where you are standing you can see the night sky near the horizon through the windows. So, can a satellite see you from the horizon? Or would the curvature of the planet not allow that, even though you can see the sky? If you can see the night sky, can the night sky see you?
2006-10-20 02:51:47 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
See that's kind of what I thought at first also. But, most satellites use two cameras with limited look angles combined to make one image. This would make a picture more than 50 or 60 degrees from perpendicular to the satellite (straight down to the planet) almost impossible.
http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/fp/b19ch5.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconnaissance_satellite
2006-10-20 03:07:07 · update #1
A reconnaissance satellite can see you if you can see it. A satellite does not need to be directly over a spot to observe it, but as the angle of observation decreases, the observation distance and atmospheric interference increase.
2006-10-20 02:55:41 · answer #1 · answered by Deep Thought 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, a satellite won't see you. Two reasons: one, most satellite sensors have a sweeping camera that tilts side to side to record a line or scan. Those sweep angles only extend 30-40 degrees each way. The other reason is that even at 40 degrees, atmospheric and optical effects begin to distort the light.
Cheers!
Rolandc73
http://www.terraprints.com
2006-10-23 17:04:38 · answer #2 · answered by Roland C 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A satellite especially designed to scan the surface of the Earth from an angle could very well see you. Modern spy satellites have resolutions that allow seeing an object as small as a human being. But typically, they scan "from above", not from a important angle.
2006-10-20 09:55:21 · answer #3 · answered by F.G. 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Generally, if you can see it then it can see you.
Satellites observing the earth from low earth orbit tend to look straight down rather than at any other angle. The reason for this is that they will be looking through less of the atmosphere. The atmosphere is rather turbulent and unpredictable and the greater the thickness that you have to look through, the more distorted the image.
2006-10-20 10:11:37 · answer #4 · answered by Stewart H 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just a wild guess. Our eyes and pupils are convex or concave depending on your perspective and so is sky above us. Any further thinking on this leads me to confusion. :( Just a thought. Really. Don't know where it came from. But I never thought it before. :)
2006-10-23 20:48:16 · answer #5 · answered by lqworld 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you can see it, it can see you.
2006-10-20 10:06:06 · answer #6 · answered by Krissy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your last statement is correct - if you can see an object in the night sky, that object can see you, or at least see your eyes.
2006-10-20 09:54:55 · answer #7 · answered by kris 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
unless you have one way mirrored glass then anything you can see can see you
This is called line-of-sight.
So yes a low sattelite can see you. But it would normally be pointed straight down so it would NOT see you. But it COULD if it turned towards you
2006-10-20 09:55:29 · answer #8 · answered by Stuart T 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋