Neither the Great Wall of China nor the pyramids: what is the only human structure that can be seen from space

Planet Earth. Image: Unsplash

There is the myth Popular that Great Wall of China He is the only one building What is seen from space. However, this is it forged Instead, there is a single structure created by Humans Which can be easily seen outside Land.

This construction It covers more than 30 thousand hectares It was discovered by the most powerful satellite monitoring devices on Earth.

Egyptian pyramids. Image: Unsplash.

They are not Egyptian pyramidsThat they can be seen, although with some difficulty – because they are alone in the desert. It is a building located south Iberian Peninsula And he is the only one Visible Easily for everyone.

A building that can be seen from space

Spanish astronaut Pedro Duke He mentioned in one of his space missions that the only structure that can be seen almost completely from space is the Hulk greenhouses in almeria, Found in a community Andalus.

Greenhouses in Almeria. Photos Twitter @PregoneroL.

In turn, this information was confirmed by another Spanish astronaut named Michael Lopez Alegriawho worked in a pot And he was a leader International Space Station (ISS) on the fourteenth mission.

Greenhouses are located in Almeria desert It looks like a white spot spread over several areas Kilometers During the Spanish coast.

Great Wall of China. Image: Unsplash.

The area of ​​these buildings is between 20,000 and 70,000 hectares where Spain crop Tropical fruits, sweet peppers, squash, tomatoes, watermelon and watermelonamong other things.

Now, all these hectares of… Crops It is produced thanks to Groundwater layers That feeds them. These greenhouses exist because it would be impossible to produce them food If it is not grown artificially. The entire region produces between 2.5 million and 3.5 million tons of fruits and vegetables annually.

The sea of ​​greenhouses can be seen from space

the a pot This area was named after A Sea of ​​greenhouses And The most impressive images to be seen on May 24, 2022 were captured by the Operational Ground Imager 2 (OLI-2) aboard the satellite. Landsat 9.

What building can be seen from space? Twitter video @alvarosenan.

The pictures clearly show this type of agriculture surrounding a city ejido, near Dahlias coasts.

History of greenhouses in Almería

Between 1950 and 1960, farmers began mining in the area Agricultural greenhouses With plastic blankets and able to sand for care Soil and plants From harmful winds and salty groundwater.

Almeria's greenhouses can be seen perfectly from space. Twitter images @jmmulet.

Researchers in University of Almeria They calculated that the whiteness of a surface Almeria by approximately 10 percent between 1983 and 2006 due to the rise Reflexivity Of greenhouses.

Climate change: why is it useful to combat it?

These measurements were made thanks to the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on board the satellites. NASA Aqua and Terra, L.

Thanks to greenhouses, the area has suffered from Cooling 0.3°C Per decade in Almeria, compared to Increase 0.5°C For each contract in the region.