Pic o’ the Week: Nature’s Light in Dark Times

Aurora jellies in fjord outside Tromsø, northern Norway. Photo © Audun Rikardsen “Surrounded by darkness yet enfolded in light” ~ Alan Brennert It seems dark in so many ways ... quite literally in the northern hemisphere in the depths of winter, and figuratively around the globe as war and violence rage in Ukraine, Gaza and …

Pic o’ the Week: Starry Veliger Larvae

Veliger larvae. Photo © Ryo Minemizu "Behold the mesmerizing beauty of veliger larvae, tiny creatures that seem to have captured the stars and created their own night sky in the depths of the ocean!  These beautiful beings are the larval stage of many marine gastropods, including conchs, sea slugs, and snails.They typically have a translucent …

Pandemic Escape: Glow-In-The-Dark Corals Light Up The Deep Sea

Way, way down in the oceans' darkest depths, lights glow and sparkle. For millennia, bioluminescence has been seen in oceans around the world. Indeed, around 50 A.D., Pliny the Elder wrote that one could rub the slime of a certain luminous jellyfish, possibly Pelagia noctiluca, onto a walking stick to make it double as a torch. …

Holiday Zen: the sea’s glittering lights

A favorite sea phenomenon - bioluminescence, or the living lights of the ocean. Kick back and enjoy a moment of deep sea wonder in this holiday season: http://youtu.be/XD7thJVRKmQ It never gets old for many, including Dr. Edith Widder, who studies bioluminescence in sea creatures: "During my first open ocean dive, I went down to 800 feet and …