Right, I would agree with you. Of course I didn't mean you couldn't see stars during the day with special instruments, I only meant with standard telescopes. And again, you're looking up thru much thinner atmosphere.
I don't know what techniques could be used to see much farther on land. I know SONAR has a pretty limited range. I would be interested to know of any that can "see" thru the haze at that kind of distance.