SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Pictures: Glowing Blue Waves Explained

3K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  SlowButSteady 
#1 ·
#2 ·
Is that an unretouched photo? If it is, it's one of the most remarkable pictures I've ever seen.
 
#10 ·
Is that an unretouched photo?
I'm skeptical. What's that glowing thing on the horizon? Is it really possible to get such a clear sky with things glowing on the horizon?

Also if it's really a moonless night, how is the shadow explained? Why is the sand so bright?

And how do you get a photo of water on a beach at night with such detail and no blurring due to the long exposure times required?
 
#3 ·
Looks like a normal no moon night on the beach on Koh Jum. We paint each others faces and bodies by finger painting the phosphorescence. Lasts for 20 min or so and then you do it again. The drying squid ,having eaten the plankton does the same glow, enough to read by in a tent.
 
#7 ·
Jerry, local fishermen catch and dry pla mok in Thailand .I was camping on Koh Surin when I found some squid forgotten on the rocks. They were very noticeable on a dark night so I took them into the tent and ta da , the discovery .Interestingly it wasn't a steady glow but rather a pulsing as if the squid or the plankton were communicating with each other . I thought you'd be more interested in the late night body painting
 
#8 ·
We frequently see a similar phenomena in the Gulf of Mexico on our annual trips to Key West and points south. My girls like to ride the bow (with tethers to jack-lines and life-jackets) when the weather's nice and a wave splash will sometimes leave them laughing and glowing. My better half calls it the "glow of good health".
 
#9 ·
Many more years ago than I care to think about.....spring break on South Padre....an accident in Port Isabel knocked out power to the island. We all ran down to the beach (as did thousands of others) and started partying in the dark. The waves would explode in greenish light, the foam washing up on the beach glowed, and everywhere you stepped, bright green sparks would flash and branch out under your feet.

A few hours later, power was restored....lights came back on....and the show was over.
 
#11 ·
If that were Thailand the looming on the horizon would be a squid boats lights The blue lights on the sand are little polyps of bioluminecent jelly left on the sand by the last wave Shadows caused by lights from the nearby bar , I'll bet. Exposure time is stretched a bit but what you see is why I've spent 15 years on the beach communing with nature
 
#13 ·
Any gillnetter will complain about the lost night because of 'fire' in the water. Salmon see the net and go around. If you go into the garden and, grab a plate full of compost from under a bush, take it into dark closet and stir;;;show and tell .Old time sailors told of rays of light on dark nights; probably caused by the shock wave of submarine volcanic eruptions going by at the speed of sound and exciting the bioluminecent criitters. Don't wonders abound?
 
#16 ·
It looks to me like it's just a fairly long exposure taken on a dark evening. That's why everything, including the night sky, looks so bright.
 
#15 ·
When taking zooplankton samples it's standard practice to have the sample storage jars (usually 500 ml) ready, about 10% full of saturated formalin solution. If the sampling is done at night, the nets and associated gear will often come up from the water sparkling, sometimes even glowing a bit, with bioluminescence. But the real show happens when the plankton sample is dropped into the jar with the formalin. As soon as the sample hits the formalin, and is gently swirled around a bit to mix the formalin into the rest of the jar, everything in the sample with any bioluminescent properties will glow "full power" for about 10 or 20 seconds. The collective effect is kind of like looking at 50 or 60 watt light bulb; Not only can one easily read by the light, but I've often experienced the sort of "ghosting" one might expect after looking directly into a flashlight, or after a camera flash goes off. Of course, the bioluminescence starts to diminish pretty quickly, and within a minute or so everything in the jar is dead and dark (and on the way to the lab).
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top