Can you see other planets from Kerbin's atmosphere?

[SoldierHair]

So i was flying my Fockewulf when i see this weird white dot in the sky.It was Minmus and you can actually see it pretty detailed (atleast i could , but the screens aren't at a very big resolution , recently i decided to play in windowed mode).

You can see the 'ocean' and the salt mountains pretty good if you slightly zoom in this photo.

So , after i saw this i started to wonder if you can see other planets , like very small dots , from Kerbin.

[RawChicken]

I know you can see Mun and Minmus, but I think you cant see more..Maybe if Duna comes close you can see it..I dont hink so tho

[RazorWolf19]

I'm pretty sure It's possible to see other planets from anywhere in the Kerbol system. However, these planets are only single pixels until you get close enough to notice any respectable size difference. That being said, YES you CAN see other planets from Kerbin, BUT I find it very unlikely that you would be able to recognize them... so, you could just say no.

Happy Flying!

[That guy who builds stuff]

Anyone care to calculate how high a resolution you'd need for duna to be visible?

[astropapi1]

Actually, they're all visible from LKO, you'll need a telescope like IRL. Try the Ordan industries telescopes, I was able to get a close shot of laythe and vall from LKO!

[RocketPilot573]

Yep, I've seem Duna, Eve, and Jool from Kerbin. Though, they're only made a of 1-5 pixels even on highest resolution. To see them better, go in IVA and zoom in on the windows.

[SolarLiner]

Okay, let's do some maths first:

At closest, Duna is (Duna.SMA - Kerbin.SMA) = (20 726 155 264 - 13 599 840 256) = 7 126 315 008 m far from Kerbin

Duna has a radius of 320 km, which corresponds to a diameter of 640 km.

With the help of this site, we get an apparent size of 0° 0' 18.524", which is smaaaaaallllllll (eye FOV is about 60°)

[SoldierHair]

Actually, they're all visible from LKO, you'll need a telescope like IRL. Try the Ordan industries telescopes, I was able to get a close shot of laythe and vall from LKO!

I can't find the mod.

[deadshot462]

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/24639-0-20-0-162-Ordan-Industries-Telescope!-Last-Updated-May-27-2013!

There ya go, this mod will let you see any planet from Kerbin orbit, really cool.

Also, you can use this mod to zoom in on Kerbin artifacts from low Kerbin orbit. You can see the launchpad with great details if you zoom in quite a bit. Great for "spy satellite" missions.

[SoldierHair]

Thank you.

[Storm1]

SEND ME THE LINK FOR THAT FOCKEWULF.... I REALLY NEED IT! I LOVE THE FOCKEWULF!... what mods did you use... I bet I have them installed though...

[Minesculptor]

Yes, it is actually possible to see other planets from Kerbin! The planets work differently than objects e.g. asteroids, rockets and space stations. They are always loaded, so with the right tools they can be seen visibly from anywhere in the Kerbol System. By using the zoom in feature in a command pod, you can easily spot Minmus if you set it as target, but it’s possible to zoom in on other planets! So far I was only able to see Eve as four purple pixels on the screen as well as Jool (2x2 to 3x3). I also tried to spot Duna from kerbin but with no luck. If you plan on trying this for yourself, make sure the planets/moons are as close to the location you are observing the object from. This makes it easier to spot. Enjoy!

[TimKerbin]

I've never actually considered if you can see the other planets from Kerbin in vanilla, never tried. But the Distant Object Enhancement mod does make them visible, and allows you to change their colour and brightness as seen in the sky. It's fun watching out for conjunctions and other rare alignments.