1921: The Moon and the Great Wall

2017-11-28T01:16:01Z

Danielchen950: The Earth is a celestial body.

{{comic
| number = 1921
| date = November 27, 2017
| title = The Moon and the Great Wall
| image = the_moon_and_the_great_wall.png
| titletext = And arguably sunspots, on rare occasions. But even if they count, it takes ideal conditions and you might hurt your eyes.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a reference to the myth that the {{w|Great Wall of China}} is the only manmade object that can be seen from the {{w|Moon}} (or from space) with the naked eye. {{w|Great_Wall_of_China#Visibility_from_space|Sadly, it cannot}}, in fact it's barely visible from the low orbit of satellites. The statement in the comic, however, is almost true, as the features on the Moon are indeed craters and valleys on the surface of the Moon, and except for the {{w|Sun}} (see title text) all other distant {{w|Astronomical object|celestial bodies}} can only be seen as points of light by the unaided human eye.

The joke in this comic is that the end of the sentence: “from the Great Wall of China” is unnecessary, as the moon’s features can in fact be seen equally well anywhere on Earth. The irony is how this statement is the exact inverse of the myth. Also, Earth can technically be classified as a celestial body, and standing on the {{w|Great Wall of China}} one can easily see other manmade objects.

The title text states that one is sometimes able to see large {{w|sunspots}} if any are present and conditions are ideal. However, looking at the sun with the naked eye risks extensive damage to the eye and should NEVER be done. (It's possible to see sunspots with {{w|solar eclipse}} glasses or other adequate {{w|Eye protection#Protection against light|protection}}, but that's not the naked eye.)

==Transcript==
:[Megan is holding her arm up towards Ponytail as they stand atop a large brick wall to the left of a tower with three small windows.]
:Megan: Did you know that the moon's craters and plains are the only structures on the surface of a celestial body that can be seen with the naked eye from the Great Wall of China?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category: Astronomy]]

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1921: The Moon and the Great Wall