Letters from the June 3, 2006, issue of Science News

Latitude adjustments

“Shafts of snow sculpted by sun” (SN: 4/1/06, p. 206) doesn’t say that penitentes appear only in the Andes, nor does it say in what part of the Andes they appear. Does the formation of penitentes require that the sun be nearly directly overhead for part of the day? Can penitentes form only near the equator?

Burton Loupee
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Penitentes are also found in non-equatorial regions, says Meredith D.