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What is bioluminescence? It’s a living light
What is bioluminescence? It’s a living light,Updates on your cosmos and world

What is bioluminescence? It’s a living light

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Petr Horálek captured this bioluminescence on February 14, 2023, and wrote: “What a wonderful night at Soneva Jani Island in the Maldives. After stargazing at the So Starstruck observatory, I visited the northern beach and couldn’t believe my eyes. The whole beach shone with turquoise light, the gems of the Southern Cross constellation above. Locals say the bioluminescence of plankton peaks in early January. But this year the activity lasted a month more. This night was simply epic. You could walk on the beach with the plankton stuck on your feet like torches. You could swim in the lagoon, and your movements were illuminated in the water. It felt like a turquoise wonderland.” Thank you, Petr!

What is bioluminescence?

When you hear the word bioluminescence, do you think of glowing ocean waves under a dark sky? Many do. But, bioluminescence includes all life that – through a chemical reaction – emits light. In the image above, a single-celled form of marine plankton, known as bioluminescent dinoflagellates, are the source of the light on the incoming waves. But in addition, there are bioluminescent creatures in the deeper ocean, too. And we here on Earth’s dry land sometimes see bioluminescent creatures flying in the air.

First, about the image above, which is from the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Sri Lanka and India. According to the Visit Maldives website:

These dinoflagellates use a chemical called luciferin to emit a bright blue light as a defense mechanism … The flashes of light produced by the dinoflagellates can disorient and confuse predators.

The movement of the waves can also trigger this light emission, resulting in the mesmerizing sight of glowing waves washing ashore in the Maldives.

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How do living creatures make light?

Luciferin is the key to these creatures that emit living light. Luciferin is a molecule that reacts in the presence of the enzyme luciferase to produce light. Indeed, the words come from lucifer, which is simply Latin for light-bearer.

The chemical reaction between the two splits off a molecular fragment. That, in turn, produces an excited state that emits light.

In the video below, you can see how scientists are studying undersea creatures to learn more about bioluminescence.

Other sources of bioluminescence

Bioluminescence is common in marine life, such as jellyfish, sharks, crustaceans and fish. However, it can occur on land too, in worms, fireflies and even plant life such as mushrooms. In fact, here’s a list of 10 mushrooms that glow in the dark.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Petr Horálek captured this image on February 24, 2023. Petr wrote: “The boat in the center of the image is named ‘Amazing View’ as it belongs to Moosa Farooq of the Amazing View Guest House of Thoddoo, Maldives. And yes, there are amazing views around the island, not only in the daytime. The boat – calmly anchored close to the beach – is surrounded by both marine and sky universes. On the water’s surface, the numerous ‘sparkles’ belong to the bioluminescent plankton. Far away, over the Indian Ocean, the majestic Orion constellation sets, followed by the Milky Way, bright star Sirius, and hydrogen nebulae not visible to the eyes. What an amazing view!” Thank you, Petr!

Bottom line: Bioluminescence is living light. From plankton to jellyfish to fireflies, many creatures around the world can glow in the dark.