Over three miles above the Peruvian rainforest, a team of scientists crammed themselves into a small research aircraft along with a laser-emitting device known as a Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging). The Lidar was used to bounce laser beams off the lush green canopy below at a rate of 400,000 times per second, allowing the researchers to reconstruct dazzlingly colorful three-dimensional maps of the forest below. Read More