Abstract

The orientation of many polarization-sensitive animals and the hypothetical sky-polarimetric Viking navigation both rely on the polarization pattern of skylight. For 40 years, scientists have attempted to construct various models to simulate this pattern. However, existing theoretical models have only analyzed the polarization pattern of skylight that is influenced separately by the sun or the moon and have built their modeling frameworks based on the position of one light source. This approach fails to account for the combined influence of the sun and the moon on the distribution of skylight polarization patterns at certain times. In fact, ignoring the influence of the moon during the dawn and dusk periods in clear weather conditions may lead to significant errors in the simulation results compared to the measured data. In this paper, we present an analytical model that considers various factors, including skylight intensity, horizon correction factor, atmospheric turbidity condition, and combined influence of both the sun and moon on the distribution of polarized skylight. We believe our model demonstrates enhanced agreement with measured data and will further our understanding of how animals use the celestial polarization pattern for navigation, particularly when both the sun and the moon appear in the sky. Moreover, the findings of this study may facilitate the advancement of bio-inspired navigation systems.

© 2023 Optica Publishing Group

Polarization transition between sunlit and moonlit skies with possible implications for animal orientation and Viking navigation: anomalous celestial twilight polarization at partial moon

András Barta, Alexandra Farkas, Dénes Száz, Ádám Egri, Pál Barta, József Kovács, Balázs Csák, István Jankovics, Gyula Szabó, and Gábor Horváth
Appl. Opt. 53(23) 5193-5204 (2014)

Celestial polarization patterns during twilight

Thomas W. Cronin, Eric J. Warrant, and Birgit Greiner
Appl. Opt. 45(22) 5582-5589 (2006)

High-similarity analytical model of skylight polarization pattern based on position variations of neutral points

Peifeng Pan, Xin Wang, Tian Yang, Xiankun Pu, Wenli Wang, Changhao Bao, and Jun Gao
Opt. Express 31(9) 15189-15203 (2023)

Study on skylight polarization patterns over the ocean for polarized light navigation application

Le Guan, Shiqi Li, Liyuan Zhai, Sheng Liu, Hui Liu, Wei Lin, Yan Cui, Jinkui Chu, and Huikai Xie
Appl. Opt. 57(21) 6243-6251 (2018)

Polarized skylight navigation

Moshe Hamaoui
Appl. Opt. 56(3) B37-B46 (2017)