ExploraTour - Looking at the World in a Different Light

Some animals and insects on earth can see types of radiant energy that are outside of the range visible to humans. Some types of snakes called pit vipers can see in the infrared. Pit vipers are able to find small animals to eat even in the darkness. They see the infrared light given off by the animals.

Watch the quicktime move to see how they do it.

Pit vipers have small pits alongside their face that are used to feel the infrared radiation. As they shift their head from side to side they find the small animal by determining the direction of the most intense radiation.


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Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA