World's Largest Signature Is Useful For Analyzing NASA's Satellite Imagery
Texas, the biggest of the contiguous US states, prides itself on being larger than life. Everything, from hairstyles to boot heels to food portions to mascots to convenience stores (the largest one boasts 80 soda fountains), is exaggerated. Hence, it should come as no surprise that the Lone Star State is also home to the largest signature on Earth.
The massive "LUECKE," spelled out with over three miles of trees, with each letter stretching thousands of feet in each direction, was created in the 1990s by Texas cattle rancher Jimmie Luecke. The former state trooper, who made his fortune during the 1980s oil boom, came up with the idea when he needed to clear more of his large swath of land outside the town of Smithville, to accommodate his growing herd.
Instead of indiscriminately razing down the forest, Luecke decided to save a few hundred trees to carve out his name. In addition to being an ego boost, the letters helped divide the farmland and protected the soil from eroding. Over the years, the world's largest signature, which can be clearly seen from the skies, has also become a popular landmark for air travelers flying above eastern Texas, from Houston to Austin.
The humongous geoglyph also serves another important, albeit unexpected, purpose. It helps NASA astronauts determine the quality of their satellite cameras. According to a statement released by the US space agency a few years ago, "By clearing forest so that a pattern would be visible to landing aircraft, a landowner outside Austin, Texas created a target that is also useful for evaluating spatial resolution of astronaut photographs."
For those unfamiliar with the term, spatial resolution refers to the detail, or the size of individual pixels, at which a satellite sensor "sees" the Earth. A digital image with a higher spatial resolution comprises more pixels than a lower spatial resolution image with similar dimensions. The measurement helps determine the quality of the image and allows scientists to ascertain how small the object can be for a satellite system to detect it.
Though Luecke was the first to think of this brilliant idea, he was not the only one. In 2005, Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, a billionaire in the United Arab Emirates, carved his name in the sand of Al Futaisi island off Abu Dhabi. The two-mile-long signature was made using connected canals that filled up with water during full tide in the Persian Gulf. However, for reasons unknown, the massive billboard was erased in 2012, leaving Luecke's signature the only one of its kind in the world.
Resources: odditycentral.com, atlasobscura.com, Dailymail.co.uk
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94 Comments
rayquaza123Friday, December 11, 2020 at 7:21 pmWow this is amazing!
minecraft_god_0Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 5:27 pmOMGGGGG!!!!!!! SO HUGE!!! looked at it about 1000 times and still can't believe that it is made from a forest!
wibewago-160133430914Monday, October 26, 2020 at 6:58 amI WENT ON GOOGLE EARTH AND LOOKED AT IT IT IS HUGE!!!!!!!
l78Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 7:12 amCool.
akiMonday, April 20, 2020 at 3:25 pmwho likes this it is nice- wibewago-160133430914Monday, October 26, 2020 at 6:58 amThis is awesome
catlovesu2Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 2:17 pmI like too! Please follow I am new!
stuffmanWednesday, April 15, 2020 at 8:21 pmSo cool
llamasanddogsTuesday, April 14, 2020 at 3:58 pmCool! 😎
mangogirlTuesday, April 14, 2020 at 1:10 pmWow I can’t believe the largest signature is in the state where I live- wibewago-160133430914Monday, October 26, 2020 at 7:02 amReally? You're lucky!
- catlovesu2Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 2:17 pmCool!
cobrakidTuesday, March 31, 2020 at 5:35 pmLargest as in fatest or as in longest?
selenalopez88Monday, March 30, 2020 at 9:36 amThis is super cool since i live near it#texasgirl#gotexan#supercool- cobrakidWednesday, April 1, 2020 at 10:04 amIs that supposed to mean `Boo people that don't live in Texas`, because I live in L.A. But I don't think that's what U mean.
- minecraft_god_0Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 5:32 pmI think she means that her state is awesome, and she isn't comparing the states ,I think.
- minecraft_god_0Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 5:32 pmI live in L.A. too by the way