Can candle light be seen from space?
Can the unaided eye see the light from a single candle from 10 miles away? According to some claims on the Internet, the answer is yes – but now two scientists in the US have borrowed techniques from astronomy to show that a pair of binoculars would probably be needed.
How far can the light of one candle be seen?
Seeing distances Detecting a candle flame: Researchers believe that without obstructions, a person with healthy but average vision could see a candle flame from as far as 1.6 miles. Without the Earth’s curve and from higher up: You might be able to identify objects from dozens, even hundreds, of miles away.
How bright can a candle be?
The light produced is about 13 lumens, for a luminous efficacy of about 0.16 lumens per watt (luminous efficacy of a source) – almost a hundred times lower than an incandescent light bulb. The luminous intensity of a typical candle is approximately one candela.
What does a candle look like in zero gravity?
In zero gravity the flame is spherical, blue, and centered on the candle wick. On Earth a candle flame is teardrop-shaped, yellow, and mostly well above the wick. As you suspected, the lack of gravity means that there is no convection, which accounts for the very different shape. But what explains the different color?
How far away can the human eye see a flame?
So there we have it—the farthest distance a human eye can detect a candle flame is 2.76 kilometers.
How far can humans see at night?
But our visual acuity extends far beyond the horizon. If Earth were flat, or if you were standing atop a mountain surveying a larger-than-usual patch of the planet, you could perceive bright lights hundreds of miles distant. On a dark night, you could even see a candle flame flickering up to 30 miles (48 km) away.
How far can the human eye see a candle burning?
What happens if you light a lighter in space?
But what happens when you light a candle, say, on the International Space Station (ISS)? “In microgravity, flames burn differently—they form little spheres,” says Williams. Unlike flames on Earth, which expand greedily when they need more fuel, flame balls let the oxygen come to them.
How many foot-candles of light does a full moon produce?
Full daylight typically equals about 1,000 foot-candles, while an overcast day would have only 100 foot-candles of light. Twilight produces just 1 foot-candle, while a night with a full moon has 0.01 foot-candle and an overcast night has only 0.00001 foot-candle.
How bright is a candle at 10 miles away?
Krisciunas and Carona say this would occur at a distance of 2,576 meters or roughly 1.6 miles, and that at 10 miles a candle would appear as bright as a magnitude 9.98 star. “This is far beyond the capabilities of the most sensitive human eyes,” they say.
How big of a telescope would it take to see the Moon?
You would require a telescope around 200 meters in diameter to see it. The largest telescope now is the Keck Telescope in Hawaii at 10 meters in diameter. Even the Hubble Space telescope is only 2.4 meters in diameter. Resolving the lunar rover, which is 3.1 meters in length, would require a telescope 75 meters in diameter.
Can you see objects left behind on the Moon?
Can you see objects left behind on the moon? Unfortunately the answer to this question is no. Not even the most powerful telescopes ever made are able to see these objects. The flag on the moon is 125cm (4 feet) long. You would require a telescope around 200 meters in diameter to see it.