Reshare because European Southern Observatory (ESO) [on another thread, now lost] just unwittingly provided the answer.
Legolas' eyes work as an interferometer. With 12x the sharpness of the sharpest human vision, he'll be able to see details about 25cm across 24km away. That's easily enough to count the enemy soldiers and discern the height of the enemy leader. And it will work in ordinary optical light, no need for ultra-violet !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk2izv-c_ts&feature=share
Got there independently before getting this far up the stream :)
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