September 13, 2024
Nature
Photography
Grace Ebert
Ryan Imperio (USA), “Distorted Shadows of the Moon’s Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse.” All images © the photographers, courtesy of Royal Observatory Greenwich
October 14, 2023, marked the annual solar eclipse in the U.S. For photographer Ryan Imperio, the event also ushered in a rare opportunity to capture the progression of Baily’s beads.
Appearing like glimmering rings, Baily’s beads occur when the sun shines through the valleys and craters on the moon’s surface, allowing light to leak through the mass darkening event. Imperio documented the perfect half-rings from a spot in Odessa, Texas, piecing together about 30 images into a brilliant, repetitious composite that won him the 2024 Astronomy Photographer of the Year.
Tom Rae (New Zealand),
”Tasman Gems”
“What an innovative way to map the moon’s topography at the point of third contact during an annular solar eclipse,” said Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn, who judged the competition. “This is an impressive dissection of the fleeting few seconds during the visibility of the Baily’s beads”
Hosted annually by Royal Museums Greenwich, this year’s contest garnered more than 3,500 entries from photographers in 58 countries. […]
Matt Jackson (USA), “Big Brother is Watching You”
Read more:Â https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/09/astronomy-photographer-of-the-year/
Wild buffalo in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve, on March 2, 2023.GERALD ANDERSON (ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES)
Social life has its benefits. Animals that live in groups are better protected from predators, allowing them more time to feed and care for their offspring. But each individual within the group has different needs. For example, some may need more time to digest, while others may want to move to a new area with food or water.
To keep the group together, most social species need to make collective decisions, which is why they each have their own voting systems. Sometimes, the opinions of all individuals count equally, while for other species, only part of the group can vote. In still others, the leader holds all the power. Below are five cases in point.
Tanzania’s Lake Manyara National Park offers several places for buffalo to graze. In the afternoon, the herd is often found resting on the lake shore. Most lie down, but now and then a buffalo will stand up, shake a little as if to stretch its legs, and lie down again. When the sun touches the horizon, it’s time to look for a place with good grass to eat. The herd rises and starts walking in the same direction. Somehow, they all know where to go.
In the 1990s, Herbert Prins, a professor of ecology at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, noticed that when females stood up to stretch their legs, they were actually voting. After shaking and before lying down, they “looked” in one direction for a minute, holding their heads higher than when resting but lower than when alert. Once the females had expressed their preferences, the herd would move in the direction with the most votes.
When a hive grows too large, the queen and half the colony leave to find a new home, while a young queen continues to rule the old nest. Selecting a new nest begins with the departure of hundreds of scout bees that go from tree to tree to inspect each cavity for the right place. They consider factors such as size, light, humidity, and temperature.
When the search ends, the scouts return to the hive and voting begins. In a kind of dance, each bee communicates the site that it likes the most, providing information about its location and its quality. The decision is made when many bees agree through their dances. A minute later, the bees are on their way to their new home.
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Read more:Â https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2023-05-22/this-how-animals-make-collective-decisions-bees-dance-and-the-elephant-matriarchs-decide.html
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