MadSci Network: Physics |
I am on the shore of Frenchman's Bay, Maine at night looking across salt water at Bar Harbor and Cadilac Mountain about 5 miles away. Periodically, a car which has driven to the summit of the mountain turns around at the top and it's headlights can be seen as a flash of light lasting a few seconds. At the same time, it seems that I can see a path of reflected light from these headlights shining all the way across the bay to where I am standing (about 5 miles as I noted above). I find it difficult to believe that automobile headlights are strong enough to shine for this distance. I have also seen this phenomenon with aircraft landing lights when the aircraft is 5 to 10 miles away (estimated).
Re: How far can we see reflected light?
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