Subj : ES Picture of the Day 21  2022
To   : All
From : Dan Richter
Date : Mon Nov 21 2022 11:01:10

 EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes
and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and
archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


 Detailed Image of Dragonfly Eye

   November 21, 2022


    GregP_Dragonfly_eye

   Photographer:  Greg Parker

   Summary Author:  Greg Parker

   Shown above is a full resolution, microscopic image of a dragonfly’s
   eye. The huge  compound eyes of  dragonflies are composed of up
   to 30,000 facets or little lenses. These compound eyes have a dorsal
   (upper) region that detects light directly from the sky above, and a
   ventral (under) region that collects light reflected off objects on the
   ground.

   We humans like to think our eyesight is pretty good, and thanks in
   large part to our big brains, we have excellent vision. We rely only on
   three  opsin genes, so we have three  photoreceptors (cones),
   that are sensitive to blue, green, and red light. It turns out that the
   diversity of opsin proteins that animals have in their eyes is related
   to the quality of their vision.  Dragonflies have between 15 and 33
   such opsin genes, which should give some indication of just how well
   they can see.

   Note that this image looks like it’s been taken with an electron
   microscope as it has an enormous depth of focus. However, the
    focus-stacking approach I use has a major advantage over electron
   microscope images in that the image is reproduced in real color!

   Photo details: Both focus-stacking and assembling a mosaic are required
   to create an image such as this. I used a Canon 5D MkII DSLR and a
   L300BHTG research trinocular microscope, operating at a magnification
   of x20.


   Hampshire, U.K Coordinates:  50.819444, -1.59


Related EPODs

    Detailed Image of Dragonfly Eye  Fossil Find in Sangiovannulo,
   Sicily  Black Widow Spider  Morning Dew and Spider Web
   Illumination  Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in North Carolina
    Summertime Fireflies and Star Trails
    More...

Animal Links

     *  Animal Diversity Web
     *  ARKive
     *  BirdLife International
     *  Bug Guide
     *  Discover Life
     *  Integrated Taxonomic Information System
     *  Microbial Life Resources
       Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the
-
        Universities Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu
 
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