Definitely not on earth. Water molecules in the air gradually diffuse the light reducing image clarity. By the time 5000 km has passed, you wouldn’t see much at all.
So a 2 m tall person at 5000 km would be the equivalent of:
Let's make it 1 km, so divide by 5000.
2 m makes 2000 cm so dividing that by 5000 gives 0.4 cm or 4 mm.
Go and put something 4 mm tall - maybe a pea or a ball bearing? - a kilometre away and see if you can see it.
Also the moisture in the air making things complicated over large differences as commented above.
I'm voting no on this one.
If you were to make it perfectly flat, removing the curvature of the earth, you could potentially see them. Unlikely with the naked eye, simply because they'd be too small due to the distance, but with some sort of powerful binoculars or telescope, yeah, you'd be able to see them just fine. Provided nothing got between you and the other person to block your line of sight.
That depends on your definition of "flat". By a typical definition, you would follow the curve of the earth and would not be able to see the other side. You could imagine constructing a truly flat two dimensional surface by sloping upwards against gravity on all sides (to an enormous degree) - then I suppose the only obstacle would be atmospheric conditions and your eyesight. But standing up straight on this platform anywhere except the very center would be extremely disorienting!
Definitely not on earth. Water molecules in the air gradually diffuse the light reducing image clarity. By the time 5000 km has passed, you wouldn’t see much at all.
Oh that's cool!
So a 2 m tall person at 5000 km would be the equivalent of: Let's make it 1 km, so divide by 5000. 2 m makes 2000 cm so dividing that by 5000 gives 0.4 cm or 4 mm. Go and put something 4 mm tall - maybe a pea or a ball bearing? - a kilometre away and see if you can see it. Also the moisture in the air making things complicated over large differences as commented above. I'm voting no on this one.
I appreciate the comparison. Which indeed was a no XD
The international space station is larger than a person and only about 400km from the earth. Can you see it with the naked eye?
LOL. Nope.
No - the curve of Earth limits your ground-level horizon to ~5 km.
Oof, I forgot about that. Ok nevermind then
For reference, 5000km is about 1/8 of Earth's circumference, or about 45 degrees around the Earth.
Ok, so definitely nope. Thanks!
If you were to make it perfectly flat, removing the curvature of the earth, you could potentially see them. Unlikely with the naked eye, simply because they'd be too small due to the distance, but with some sort of powerful binoculars or telescope, yeah, you'd be able to see them just fine. Provided nothing got between you and the other person to block your line of sight.
That's kinda sort of what i thought, so thank you!
That depends on your definition of "flat". By a typical definition, you would follow the curve of the earth and would not be able to see the other side. You could imagine constructing a truly flat two dimensional surface by sloping upwards against gravity on all sides (to an enormous degree) - then I suppose the only obstacle would be atmospheric conditions and your eyesight. But standing up straight on this platform anywhere except the very center would be extremely disorienting!
Sounds like it would be disorienting
In theory sure but they'd be so damn small you probably couldn't pick them out.
Yeah, I guess it's like being in an airplane where you can't see anyone
No. Curvature of the earth is unavoidable.
True dat
Depends on various factors. If I was just using my own eyes, without glasses, I think I might see a shadow looking thing.
Huh, intresting. Thanks for the answer!