Allan Adams (MIT), Scott F. Anderson (Univ. of Washington), Andy Becker (U. Washington), Geoffrey C. Bower (UC Berkeley), Niel Brandt (Penn State), Bethany Cobb (UC Berkeley), Kem Cook (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory/IGPP), Alessandra Corsi (INAF-Roma), Stefano Covino (INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera), Derek Fox (Penn State University), Andrew Fruchter (STSCI), Chris Fryer (Los A...

Linear polarization of the clear daytime sky has often been measured as a spectrally integrated or quasi-monochromatic variable, but seldom as a spectral one. So we use a hyperspectral imaging system to measure skylight polarization at high spectral and angular resolutions for clear and hazy skies at our coastal site. The resulting polarization maps and spectra exhibit both commonalities and di...

Pterosaur wings bore a striking resemblance to sails, having a bony spar at the leading edge, formed by the forelimb and one enormously elongated digit, and an elastic wing membrane. Such simple wings would be expected to have performed badly due to excessive deformation, membrane flutter and poor control characteristics. Here I discuss how certain anatomical features, specifically a forewing m...

[1] In November 2003, the NOAA Environmental Technology Laboratory (ETL) conducted measurements of Marine Boundary Layer (MBL) stratocumulus clouds, thermodynamic structure, surface fluxes and meteorology in the southeastern Pacific stratocumulus region. The observations were part of a field program to replace the WHOI Ocean Reference Station buoy at 20 S Latitude 85 W Longitude. During the cru...

Homing pigeons appear to use the earth's magnetic field as a compass and perhaps as part of their position-finding system or 'map'. The sensory system they use to detect magnetic fields is unknown, but two current possibilities are some mode of response by the pineal organ or by the visual system, or it may be based on the magnetite crystals found in their heads. Three series of experiments to ...

Honeybees learn the spatial relationship between the sun's pattern of movement and the landscape immediately surrounding their nest, which allows bees to locate the sun under overcast skies by reference to the landscape alone. Surprisingly, when bees have been transplanted from their natal landscape to a rotated twin landscape - such as from one treeline to a similar but differently oriented tr...