bioluminescence

Phil Hart's Beautiful Photos of Light-Up Algae

Max Read · 03/04/11 04:03AM

Thanks to Phil Plait of Discover Magazine's Bad Astronomy blog, who flagged this amazing photo, we are now freaking out about bioluminescence, because what could possibly be cooler than algae that light up like this? Australian photographer Phil Hart took these photos in 2008-2009, after intense bushfires, torrential rain, deep flooding, and one algal outbreak in the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria all finally led to the arrival of the algae Noctiluca Scintillans, which produces light (well, bioluminescence) when the water moves. So Hart did the smart thing and took pictures. Lots of them. You can read the story here, and enjoy more of his photos here. Bioluminescence! Right?