According to the "News Hyperlink" of the Voice of China of the Central Radio and Television Corporation, on October 28, Beijing time, a large flare broke out in the activity area 12887, located in the west-south of the sun's surface, with an intensity of X1.0. It was the second strongest flare outbreak so far in 2021.
This flare was accompanied by a rapid coronal mass ejection event. The National Space Weather Monitoring and Early Warning Center of the China Meteorological Administration said that the outbreak process can be said to be fast, accurate and fierce, and within a few minutes after the flare outbreak, short-wave radio communications over the entire African and southern continents of North America and parts of the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean were blocked.
For the majority of pigeon racing players, the National Space Weather Monitoring and Early Warning Center of the China Meteorological Administration issued the "Carrier Pigeon Flight Index Forecast", which recommended that october 31 be grounded; on November 1, cautious release.
Why should pigeons be concerned about solar activity? Will pigeons be disturbed by this? How do pigeons navigate? Will carrier pigeons be lost?
(Photo provided by the interviewee issued by the Central Broadcasting Network)
Does solar activity affect pigeon flight?
As the general adviser of the International Pigeon Federation and the vice president of the China Carrier Pigeon Association, Huang Jianping will indeed pay more attention to the carrier pigeon flight index forecast. However, he said that from his experience and knowledge of the research, it is still controversial whether the flight of pigeons is affected by solar activity.
Some articles point out that some cells of birds seem to be able to encode information such as the direction, strength and polarity of magnetic fields; other scientists believe that the navigation ability of pigeons is related to the gravitational field of the earth.
According to Huang Jian, Professor Hans Peter found through experiments that pigeons use their memories of gravity fields near their pigeon houses to show themselves directions.
According to his usual experience and observations and records of training pigeons, Huang Jian said that he did not feel that the solar flares would have an impact on the flight of the pigeons, but instead the navigation of the pigeons would be problematic when an earthquake occurred. "Its gravitational field has been changed. This doesn't fit hans Peter's theory. ”
How do pigeons find their way?
Whether it is by the solar magnetic field or the earth's gravitational field, what does the pigeon rely on to "recognize the door" after finding the general direction of flight?
In this regard, Huang Jian introduced that the front of his loft was obscured by a row of trees, and through the data recorded by the GPS recorded by the pigeons, it was found that the pigeons would only slow down after flying over the trees and seeing the loft. Therefore, he believes that pigeons use their eyesight to confirm the specific position.
In addition, he pointed out that finding habitat, having food, having a mate, and feeding young birds are all triggers for pigeons to find and return to their nests.
At the same time, the pigeons can return home accurately, which is also related to the training in normal times. Huang Jian said: "Pigeons that have never been trained will certainly not return as fast as pigeons that have undergone many trainings. Even if we are trained, we have to retrain after a while and we have to train the pigeons repeatedly before each season starts. ”
Will carrier pigeons be lost?
In the film and television drama, you can see the bridge section of the ancients' "Flying Pigeon Book". Huang Jian said that humans have used pigeons for communication for more than 2,000 years. "Pigeons have made a great contribution to the communication life of human beings."
Although carrier pigeons are small experts in finding their way, there are also times when they are lost.
Huang Jian said that this is related to the distance it flies, weather conditions and the age of the pigeons. In general, the longer the flight distance, the easier it is to lose; in bad weather such as headwinds and rain, pigeons are more likely to fly; young birds are more likely to lose than adult pigeons. Huang Jian said that almost 80% of the young birds who compete for the first time in the year of birth will be lost.
Producer: Liang Yue
Reporter: Yang Yang
Editor: Liu Fei Pan Yuwei