Near miss in orbit

[Leovinus]

Suppose you had two objects in Earth orbit going 17,500 mph but in opposite directions in nearly the same orbit. Let's say that one is 500 feet higher than the other. This gives us a closing speed of 35,000 mph.<br /><br />Question: If you were riding on one of the objects, would you be able to see the other object fly by? Or would it be just too fast -- perhaps looking like a streak? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

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Visual perception is probably one of the less studied areas of the human eye.<br /><br />Assuming you have perfect vision and are not Mr. Magoo<br /><br />That is fast. Around 17.5 times the relative speed of two airliners head to head but believe it or not it depends how used you are to see them although there may be limits to you visual perception.<br /><br />The main problems:<br />Light available including colours<br />Your eye musculer capacity to focus<br />You familiarity with the object<br />Object in the Blind spot (head on objects can be a problem)<br /><br />The images we see are made up of light reflected from the objects we look at. This light enters the eye through the cornea. Because this part of the eye is curved, it bends the light, creating an upside-down image on the retina (this is eventually put the right way up by the brain).<br /><br />Focusing on a nearby object is different than focusing on a distant object <br />What happens when light reaches the retina?<br />The retina is a complex part of the eye, but only the very back of it is light-sensitive. This part of the retina has roughly the area of a 10p coin, and is packed with photosensitive cells called rods and cones. These allow us to see images in colour and detail, and to see at night.<br /><br />Cones are the cells responsible for daylight vision. There are three kinds - each responding to a different wavelength of light: red, green and blue. The cones allow us to see in colour and detail.<br /><br />Rods are responsible for night vision. They are sensitive to light but not to colour. In darkness, the cones do not function at all.<br /><br />Focusing the image<br />The lens focuses the image. It can do this because it is adjustable - using muscles to change shape and help us focus on objects at different distances. The automatic focusing of the lens is a reflex response and is not controlled by the brain.<br /><br />Sending the image to the brain<br />Once the image is clearly focused on the sensitive part of