why is it not possible to see am entire half of the Earth from space?

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I was watching this Vsauce video and Michael [says](https://youtu.be/mxhxL1LzKww&t=4m10s) “international Space Station residents only see about 3% of Earth’s surface at any one time.” He goes on further to [say](https://youtu.be/mxhxL1LzKww&t=22m40s):

> From the Moon, only 49% of Earth’s surface is visible. If you want to see 50%, half of Earth’s surface at once, you have to go even further away. In fact, you have to go infinitely far away which you can’t.

I don’t understand the last sentence when he says “infinitely”. ELI5.

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4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

The curvature of the earth hides it. The ISS feels high up to us, but compared to the size of the Earth it’s still very small

Think of a cone resting on a ball, no matter how big the cone is it never reaches all the way to the side of the ball before it touches it, same way with your sight never reaches the side of the earth before it runs into it

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