Analytical Treatment of Straight-Line Flights into the Sun after Planetary Fly-By

Author(s):  
B. L. Stanek
2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1565) ◽  
pp. 697-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Dacke ◽  
M. J. Byrne ◽  
E. Baird ◽  
C. H. Scholtz ◽  
E. J. Warrant

Prominent in the sky, but not visible to humans, is a pattern of polarized skylight formed around both the Sun and the Moon. Dung beetles are, at present, the only animal group known to use the much dimmer polarization pattern formed around the Moon as a compass cue for maintaining travel direction. However, the Moon is not visible every night and the intensity of the celestial polarization pattern gradually declines as the Moon wanes. Therefore, for nocturnal orientation on all moonlit nights, the absolute sensitivity of the dung beetle's polarization detector may limit the precision of this behaviour. To test this, we studied the straight-line foraging behaviour of the nocturnal ball-rolling dung beetle Scarabaeus satyrus to establish when the Moon is too dim—and the polarization pattern too weak—to provide a reliable cue for orientation. Our results show that celestial orientation is as accurate during crescent Moon as it is during full Moon. Moreover, this orientation accuracy is equal to that measured for diurnal species that orient under the 100 million times brighter polarization pattern formed around the Sun. This indicates that, in nocturnal species, the sensitivity of the optical polarization compass can be greatly increased without any loss of precision.


2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1636) ◽  
pp. 20130036 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Dacke ◽  
Basil el Jundi ◽  
Jochen Smolka ◽  
Marcus Byrne ◽  
Emily Baird

Recent research has focused on the different types of compass cues available to ball-rolling beetles for orientation, but little is known about the relative precision of each of these cues and how they interact. In this study, we find that the absolute orientation error of the celestial compass of the day-active dung beetle Scarabaeus lamarcki doubles from 16° at solar elevations below 60° to an error of 29° at solar elevations above 75°. As ball-rolling dung beetles rely solely on celestial compass cues for their orientation, these insects experience a large decrease in orientation precision towards the middle of the day. We also find that in the compass system of dung beetles, the solar cues and the skylight cues are used together and share the control of orientation behaviour. Finally, we demonstrate that the relative influence of the azimuthal position of the sun for straight-line orientation decreases as the sun draws closer to the horizon. In conclusion, ball-rolling dung beetles possess a dynamic celestial compass system in which the orientation precision and the relative influence of the solar compass cues change over the course of the day.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Maccone

AbstractThis paper is profoundly innovative for the Evo-SETI (Evolution and SETI) mathematical theory. While this author's previous papers were all based on the notion of a b-lognormal, that is a probability density function in the time describing one's life between birth and ‘senility’ (the descending inflexion point), in this paper the b-lognormals range between birth and peak only, while a descending parabola covers the lifespan after the peak and down to death. The resulting finite curve in time is called a LOGPAR, a nickname for ‘b-LOGnormal and PARabola’. The advantage of such a formulation is that three variables only (birth, peak and death) are sufficient to describe the whole Evo-SETI theory and the senility is discarded forever and so is the normalization condition of b-lognormals: only the shape of the b-lognormals is kept between birth and peak, but not its normalization condition.In addition, further advantages exist:1) The notion of ENERGY becomes part of Evo-SETI theory. This is in addition to the notion of ENTROPY already contained in the theory as the Shannon Information Entropy of b-lognormals, as it was explored in this author's previous papers. Actually, the LOGPAR may now be regarded as a POWER CURVE, i.e. a curve expressing the power of the living being to which it refers. And this power is to be understood both in the strict sense of physics (i.e. a curve measured in Watts) and in the loose sense of ‘political power’ if the logpar refers to a Civilization.Then the integral in the time of this power curve is, of course, the ENERGY either absorbed or produced by the physical phenomenon that the LOGPAR is describing in the time. For instance, if the logpar shows the time evolution of the Sun over about 10 billion years, the integral of such a curve is the energy produced by the Sun over the whole of its lifetime. Or, if the logpar describes the life of a man, the integral is the energy that this man must use in order to live.2) The PRINCIPLE OF LEAST ENERGY, reminiscent of the Principle of Least Action, i.e. the key stone to all Physics, also enters now into the Evo-SETI Theory by virtue of the so-called LOGPAR HISTORY FORMULAE, expressing the b-lognormal's mu and sigma directly in terms of the three only inputs b, p, d. The optimization of the lifetime of a living creature, or of a Civilization, or of a star, is obtained by setting to zero the first derivative of the area under the logpar power curve with respect to sigma. That yields the best value of both mu and sigma fulfilling the Principle of Least Energy for Evo-SETI Theory.3) We also derive for the first time a few more mathematical equations related to the ‘adolescence’ (or ‘puberty’) time, i.e. the time when the living organism acquires the capability of producing offsprings. This time is defined as the abscissa of ascending inflection point of the b-lognormal between birth and peak. In addition, we prove that the straight line parallel to the time axis and departing from the puberty time comes to mean the ‘Fertility Span’ in between puberty and the EOF (End-Of-Fertility time), which is where the above straight line intersects the descending parabola. All these new results apply well to the description of Man as the living creature to which our Evo-SETI mathematical theory perfectly applies.In conclusion, this paper really breaks new mathematical ground in Evo-SETI Theory, thus paving the way to further applications of the theory to Astrobiology and SETI.


1999 ◽  
Vol 173 ◽  
pp. 345-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.A. Dybczyński ◽  
P. Kankiewicz

AbstractClose approaches of stars to the Solar System perturb comets from the Oort cloud so that they pass into the planetary system − the gravitational impulse changes the distribution of observable comets. This paper presents the results of calculations of the motion of stars in the solar neighbourhood in the past and future. The main results for each star are: the time of the encounter and the minimum distance between the Sun and the star. They are calculated using three different methods: a straight line motion model, a model with a Sun − star Keplerian interaction, and the numerical integration of the equations of motion with galactic perturbations included. In the last case, two models of the Galactic potential are used: a simplified potential of the Galactic disk and the more complex potential of the Galaxy by Dauphole and Colin. Coordinates and velocities of nearby stars are taken from several different catalogues: the Gliese catalogue, the Hipparcos catalogue, and the Barbier-Brossat catalogue of Radial Velocities.


1993 ◽  
Vol 132 ◽  
pp. 289-289
Author(s):  
V.A. Brumberg ◽  
T.V. Ivanova

AbstractIn extending the results of Henon and Petit (Celes.Mech., 38,67, 1986) an algorithm is suggested to construct the series representing the general encounter-type solution of the spatial eccentric Hill’s problem. The series are arranged in powers of the eccentricity E of Hill’s problem and two integration constants e and k characterizing eccentricity and inclination of the relative motion. A particular non-periodic solution of Henon and Petit corresponding to E = e = k = 0 is taken as an intermediary. The perturbations to this solution are constructed similar to the Lunar theory of Hill and Brown with; the Universal Poissonian Processor. From theoretical point of view Hill’s problem for the encounter case is of particular interest. In distinction from the Lunar problem we do not have here angular arguments with different frequencies. Moreover, the perturbations related with the external eccentricity E (analogous to the perturbations in the motion of the motion of the Moon caused by the eccentricity of the orbit of the Sun) are of resonance character.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1637
Author(s):  
Christiane Richter ◽  
Bernd Teichert ◽  
Karel Pavelka

As in many regions of the world, astronomy also played a major role in the ancient Peruvian cultures. However, the discussion of the astronomical relevance of the Nasca geoglyphs is very controversial. A really precise and extensive investigation of astronomical phenomena has not yet taken place; the necessary data were simply missing. In the Nasca project Dresden, these data have been recorded in recent years and stored in an Oracle database. In the very first step, all geoglyphs with an astronomical orientation documented by Maria Reiche were checked and verified. Subsequently, all lines of the entity “straight line” were systematically examined with regard to the celestial bodies of the Sun and bright stars. For this purpose, on the one hand, the ellipsoidal azimuths of all straight lines were calculated and, on the other hand, the elevation angles in relation to the horizon with the help of digital terrain models (DTM) were determined. Corrections for refraction, the curvature of the Earth, visibility and atmospheric disturbances were largely considered. The azimuths of the celestial bodies during the Nasca period were calculated with software developed in-house (theses by students) and compared with those of the lines. As a result, it was possible to establish that there are individual straight lines that are aligned with the Sun and the seven randomly selected bright stars. However, the number of hits found does not justify the theory that the Nasca Pampas are an astronomical calendar system.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 526
Author(s):  
Lana Khaldy ◽  
Claudia Tocco ◽  
Marcus Byrne ◽  
Marie Dacke

To guide their characteristic straight-line orientation away from the dung pile, ball-rolling dung beetles steer according to directional information provided by celestial cues, which, among the most relevant are the sun and polarised skylight. Most studies regarding the use of celestial cues and their influence on the orientation system of the diurnal ball-rolling beetle have been performed on beetles of the tribe Scarabaeini living in open habitats. These beetles steer primarily according to the directional information provided by the sun. In contrast, Sisyphus fasciculatus, a species from a different dung-beetle tribe (the Sisyphini) that lives in habitats with closely spaced trees and tall grass, relies predominantly on directional information from the celestial pattern of polarised light. To investigate the influence of visual ecology on the relative weight of these cues, we studied the orientation strategy of three different tribes of dung beetles (Scarabaeini, Sisyphini and Gymnopleurini) living within the same biome, but in different habitat types. We found that species within a tribe share the same orientation strategy, but that this strategy differs across the tribes; Scarabaeini, living in open habitats, attribute the greatest relative weight to the directional information from the sun; Sisyphini, living in closed habitats, mainly relies on directional information from polarised skylight; and Gymnopleurini, also living in open habitats, appear to weight both cues equally. We conclude that, despite exhibiting different body size, eye size and morphology, dung beetles nevertheless manage to solve the challenge of straight-line orientation by weighting visual cues that are particular to the habitat in which they are found. This system is however dynamic, allowing them to operate equally well even in the absence of the cue given the greatest relative weight by the particular species.


1949 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Macleod

Records of oviposition by blowflies on test groups of sheep, over a five-year period, were examined for relation between the rate of oviposition per day and the conventional meteorological indices of daily weather conditions. There was a definite correspondence with the maximum shade temperature for the day. The relation was not straight-line, the slope changing at between 18 and 20°C. The association with the minimum temperature was not significant. Insolation, as measured by the difference between maximum temperatures in the sun and shade, was positively associated with oviposition.The humidity indices—evaporating power of the air and the saturation deficit—and the ratio of the daily totals of rain and evaporation, showed a low correlation ; the rainfall correlation was barely significant. The association was in no instance statistically reliable.


1952 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-146
Author(s):  
Frances W. Wright

This paper describes two methods of determining whether a sextant observation of the Moon should be of the upper or lower limb. The first method requires the use of a celestial globe or planisphere; the second is mathematical and requires a certain amount of computation, but is exact.The line which separates the dark portion of the Moon's disk from the illuminated portion is known as the terminator, and the straight line joining the ends of the terminator is that used in this problem. This line is always perpendicular to a line from the Moon to the Sun (the horns being always turned away from the Sun), so that its position can be predicted from the geometrical relations of the Earth, Sun and Moon. This enables the limb to observe to be determined.


Linguistics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Lossius Falkum ◽  
Agustin Vicente

A word is said to be polysemous when it is associated with two or several related senses (e.g., a straight line/a washing on a line/a line of bad decisions; lose a wallet/lose a relative; a handsome man/a handsome gift). It is distinguished from monosemy, where a word form is associated with a single meaning, and homonymy, where a single word form is associated with two or several unrelated meanings (e.g., the ‘financial institution’ and ‘riverside’ meanings of bank). Although the distinctions between polysemy, monosemy, and homonymy may seem clear at an intuitive level, they have proven difficult to draw in practice. Some problems are how to count senses or meanings; how to decide whether two senses are related, and in which way they are related; and how to tell apart polysemy from pragmatic effects that affect lexical meanings. Some tests have been proposed in the literature, but such tests do not give uniform results, in part because there are different ways in which an expression can be polysemous. There is an emerging consensus concerning the following “minimal” taxonomy of polysemy, such that the polysemy a word displays can belong to at least one of the following patterns: (i) irregular or accidental polysemy (e.g.,The Sun is a star/Mary is a star), (ii) regular polysemy (e.g., catch the rabbit/order the rabbit), and (iii) logical or inherent polysemy (e.g., The book is interesting/the book is heavy). The current literature approaches polysemy from different perspectives and research traditions, including lexicography, formal semantics, cognitive linguistics, distributional semantics, psycholinguistics, pragmatics, and computational linguistics.


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