The magnetic compass that birds use for orientation is affected by polarized light. That is the finding of researchers in Sweden, who studied zebra finches navigating a simple maze and found that the ...

How does a magnetic compass work? Well, it’s all down to basic physics and human ingenuity. The key component of a standard baseplate compass is its magnetized needle, which is allowed to spin freely ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Modern technologies like GPS and cell signal triangulation have made ...

They may not be on most people's list of most attractive species, but bats definitely have animal magnetism. Researchers have discovered that bats use a magnetic substance in their body called ...

A ship’s steel hull becomes part of Earth’s magnetic field, which can quietly skew a magnetic compass in different directions as the vessel turns and heels. This explains how binnacle correctors work, ...

For decades, scientists have known that migratory birds use Earth’s geomagnetic field—along with light, stars, and other cues—to guide them on remarkably long journeys. But it is unclear just how ...

Many birds of the northern hemisphere shift their migratory course to more southerly directions when moving from northern to southern latitudes. Birds from Central Europe, for example, change their ...

What if you had to find your way through hundreds of miles of unknown territory with only your eyes and a simple compass to guide you? That’s what the Australian Bogong moth does in its annual ...

Measurements by the SWAN instrument onboard SOHO, have shown that the heliosphere, the solar wind filled volume which prevents the solar system from getting embedded in the local (ambient) ...

The monarch butterfly uses a magnetic compass to guide its extraordinary migration thousands of km across North America, scientists say. Monarchs are known to possess a Sun compass but even on cloudy ...