I would have to say that your friend has his facts wrong, but maybe he should be paranoid...

The Hubble is optimized for observing objects in space. It is just not designed for observing the Earth, and doesn't carry appropriate instruments, optics, stabilization mechanisms, etc. It would be a colossal waste of money to point the Hubble toward the Earth to spy on your friend.

A much better choice would be to use one of the satellites already in orbit that are designed specifically for that job. (Although they are usually pointed towards Iraq, China, and any other country the US doesn't trust.)

I recommend a quick trip over to http://www.spaceimaging.com. They are a commerical entity which specializes in satellite imagery. The pictures on their site have 1m resolution. (ie You can see cars in the pictures).

That's the commerical (non-military, unclassified, etc.) technology. The good stuff is generally kept a secret by the military. I would guess that the military satellites are about 10x better (ie, You can see people in the pictures).

Before you panic and start wearing a tinfoil hat to keep them from reading your brainwaves, you should realize that:
1. The satellites can't see everywhere at once (the better the resolution, the smaller the field of view).
2. The pictures they produce are not realtime. They have to be processed and downloaded, which takes time.
3. The top of your head looks pretty much like everyone else's.

- Mike

P.S. Space Imaging really has some cool pictures on their site. It's worth a look.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: mallen on 2002-04-23 20:29 ]</font>