Beach In Maldives Looks Like an Ocean of Blue Stars

While vacationing on the Maldives Islands, Taiwanese photographer Will Ho came across a particularly mystical sight – a long stretch of a beach covered by billions of luminous blue dots. The seemingly magical imagery is actually anything but - it is caused by bioluminescent phytoplankton (Lingulodinium polyedrum).

These tiny organisms glow like fireflies whenever they are stressed or otherwise agitated by surface tension and acidity.  They produce bioluminescence only in warm coastal waters. They have been seen on the beaches of Australia, Indonesia, Jamaica, Vietnam, Belgium, and Florida, California and New Jersey in the U.S.