The Earth is a beautiful place made of some breathtaking things. These amazing, almost unreal, images were taken by a photographer on a beach in The Maldives. Even though these photos HAVE NOT been Photoshopped, it would appear they were. What you’re seeing is actually millions of microscopic organisms called bioluminescent phytoplankton. These plankton don’t glow all of the time as that would be wasting energy, so to capture it on film is a very rare experience.
There are creatures that can be found on both land and in the ocean, which produce light through a chemical reaction within their bodies.
The bioluminescence is a result of a light producing chemical reaction called chemiluminescense. When certain chemicals mix together, they produce an energy which basically excites other particles, then they generate a light which causes a glow.
The reason for bioluminescence is done to actually evade predators and it acts as a defense mechanism in dinoflagellates.
Dinoflagellates produce this light when disturbed. The light is meant to attract a different predator so they eat what’s disturbing the dinoflagellate.
The flash of light will also alarm the predator, causing them to swim away and making it less likely that the dinoflagellates will be eaten.
Sometimes the phytoplankton will also light up due to stress, such as the waves crashing them against the water.
Check out the video below to see the plankton in The Maldives.
I can’t imagine anything more romantic than spending an evening on this beach when the bioluminescent phytoplankton are lighting up the ground beneath your feet. This is one of the most beautiful things I think I could imagine seeing in person. The Earth we live on sure is a magical place and no amount of lifetimes would be enough to experience all of the beauty in one small planet.