I assure you this is actually how it works. Im not talking theoretical either, you can go out and take a picture of the International Space Station throught the atmosphere using equipment that can be held with a single hand.
You'll be able to see the solar panels and various other little details.
Now that's a 100 meter target 400-600 km away. An aircraft carrier is even easier.
It turns out the atmosphere is not that big of an issue for such a large target. The ISS is much worse because the atmosphere is at the beginning of the light path so diffraction is minimised, in reality a picture of an aircraft carrier from orbit with the same lens would be much sharper.
Also, in real life these kinds of optics are really close to the theoretical limit, just fyi. The theoretical limits become more difficult to reach for larger apertures and higher focal ranges, but that's a few orders of magnitude away from what's needed here.
You'll be able to see the solar panels and various other little details.
Now that's a 100 meter target 400-600 km away. An aircraft carrier is even easier.
See for example https://www.amateurastrophotography.com/how-to-photography-t...
It turns out the atmosphere is not that big of an issue for such a large target. The ISS is much worse because the atmosphere is at the beginning of the light path so diffraction is minimised, in reality a picture of an aircraft carrier from orbit with the same lens would be much sharper.
Also, in real life these kinds of optics are really close to the theoretical limit, just fyi. The theoretical limits become more difficult to reach for larger apertures and higher focal ranges, but that's a few orders of magnitude away from what's needed here.