My Secret Life: Flying Snakes...not on a plane

New research out of Virginia Tech. has looked at the dynamics of gliding reptiles or flying snakes!


The snakes can "fly" by flinging themselves off their tree-top perches and gliding to another tree or to the ground.

The researchers looked at Chrysopelea paradisi and recorded their gliding patterns on camera after allowed the researchers to create and analyse 3-D reconstructions fo the animals' gliding patterns during the flight.

The results show that, despite travelling up to 24 metres from their starting point, they never reached an "equilibrium gliding" state but neither did they simple plummet to the ground....contd. here.

My latest guest post for PBS NOVA's Secret Life of Scientists blog is now online. This week's episode features physicist and glider pilot Allan Adams talking about his love of being in the air and condensing the history of the universe into 30 seconds!


You can read the post and watch the episode here.







Forecasting Volcanic Ash Movement

This is a satellite image from the British Met Office from 08.30 this morning (Friday 16th April, 2010) showing the volcanic ash plume (in orange) drifting downwards over UK and Irish airspace. You can see a full sequence of these images (one taken every 30 minutes) on the Met Office website.

The British Met Office is one of nine global Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAAC) which monitor all volcanic eruptions worldwide for their potential impact on air travel. It is one of only two World Area Forecast Centres (the other one is in Washington) and provides forecasting of upper winds and temperatures for all flights throughout the world. This enables airlines to optimise safety and fuel consumption for their aircraft.