Can You See the Great Wall of China from Space

The Great Wall of China has a length of 21,196.18 kilometers (13,171 miles). As the top of the new seven wonders of the world, it is undoubtedly the longest man-made structure in the world. The myth regarding the Great Wall of China can be seen from outer space and has been circulated for hundreds of years. Is the Great Wall of China visible from space? The answer is more likely to be No under normal conditions. Due to the limitations of human beings’ eyesight and distance, the China Great Wall was hardly seen from a low orbit even in perfect weather conditions. Not to mention the moon.

Why is it that said the Great Wall can be Seen from Space?

The saying of the Great Wall can be seen from outer space (100 km upwards), it originated from Europe. Some Western adventurers and writers may exaggerate its visible scale in the early 20th century. For instance, William Stukeley, an English adventurer, had ever referred to that the Wall may be seen from the moon even without evidence in 1754. This idea was popularized in the middle of the 20th century. Some mediums and magazines ever reported this. Since then, more and more people have come to believe the statement.

Why Can the Great Wall Not Be Seen from Space Easily?

It is pretty much impossible to directly catch sight of the Great Wall of China with the naked eye. The Wall is irregularly shaped, which is hardly seen from space. The width of the Great Wall is an average of 6.5 meters (21 feet), and the widest section reaches 16.7 meters (54.8 feet). It is too narrow to be observed.

Besides, the Wall may be earth-integrated with the surrounding environment, hard to distinguish the object solely from the human eye. NASA made clear that the Great Wall of China could not be seen from a low orbit in 2004.

Satellite images show that the Great of China can be distinguished by devices with high resolution, like commercial satellites, which can get a shot of the Wall from 150-500 km upwards with the help of image processing. It cannot be captured by the naked eye with the addition of smoggy conditions.

Yang Liwei, China’s first astronaut, had ever spoken publicly that the Wall cannot be seen from space. Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut, had said previously that the Great Wall of China is invisible from orbit with unaided eyes, which is too narrow to be observed because it blends with natural colors. Neil Alden Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, had indicated that he couldn’t discern any man-made objects on the Earth from space. Therefore, with all these clarifications, saying that astronauts can see it from space is not true.

The China Great Wall is hardly seen from Earth's orbit, let alone from the moon. The greatness of the Great Wall lies in its historical and cultural values rather than space visibility. Scientific evidence corrects misconceptions of the past, but it is undoubtedly the most marvelous creature in the world.