What that on the horizon?

A woman described Chicago like a small set of jewels on the horizon. Some guy said that the city looked like its own miniature galaxy. Another said that it just had an eerie glow. I have never seen Chicago from this side of the lake despite looking for it on occasion. It’s common knowledge around these parts that people in St. Joseph can see all the way to Michigan City and even Gary. What is more iffy is can we see Chicago? Some say yes. Some say no. Who is right?

According to those who claim to have seen the lights of Chicago, it takes the perfect weather conditions in order to see it. Mainly it was to be awesomely calm and clear skies with low humidity and low temperatures. The best way to view it is to go up on the city bluffs.

The deniers say that what people are seeing is just the atmosphere bending light rays. The Chicago skyline just sits below the horizon. Whatever people are seeing is just a light trick. While it may be true that people can see something, they are not really seeing it.

Is that really true? Correct me if I’m wrong, but the curvature of the earth is eight inches per mile. That makes about a 40 foot wall between St. Joe and Chicago. Last I knew, buildings in Chicago are higher than forty feet. So what’s the deal? We should easily see the tops of buildings. In fact, a telescopic photo, taken in St. Joe showed the Sears Tower and the Hancock building along with another building that I couldn’t identify.

Regardless if whether what we see on the horizon is a mirage or the actual city, I would love to see it for myself for someday. It would almost be like looking at Mars. You see it there and you wonder what life is like across the distance.