How far can your cat see into the universe?

[Count Iblis]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_galaxies#List_of_naked-eye_galaxies". M101 is 27 million light years away.

I've read that the eye of a cat can collect about 20 times more light than the eye of a human. Then, given the brightness of the dimmest galaxies that have been seen by humans, that seems to imply that http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galax200.html" should be visible to a cat.

 

[fawk3s]

does the fact (presumably) that a cat's eye can collect more light than an eye of a man really mean that a can can see further?
im not the smartest person and pretty new to this forum, but to me it seems that it only makes the cat see wider.
plus, i think it also depends a lot on the ciliary muscles of the eye of cats.

 

[mazinse]

yeah good point, more light = better resolution, not magnification. Basic microscope concepts.

 

[Bob S]

Cat's eyes have a "mirror" behind the retina to reflect light back into the light sensor cells. See
http://www.agarman.dial.pipex.com/bco/fact4.htm
Our neighbor's cat maybe could see galaxies, but she didn't see the coyote that got her last night. She wasn't the smartest cat on the block.