It might seem that it is the water itself that is glowing. But instead, the glow is caused by millions of tiny organisms called dinoflagellates that live in the water and sometimes make it glow.

The ‘Sea of Stars’ is a recurring natural phenomenon that turns the shoreline into a glowing spectacle after nightfall.

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). It only takes the gentle brush of a hand or slow glide of a boat to trigger the sparkling blue-green light of bioluminescent plankton, ...

The bioluminescent bay on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques teems with microscopic life-forms called dinoflagellates, which light up whenever water nearby is disturbed. In the distance ...

It only takes the gentle brush of a hand or slow glide of a boat to trigger the sparkling blue-green light of bioluminescent plankton, or phytoplankton. The dinoflagellates — single-celled ...

Their populations are distributed depending on sea surface temperature, salinity, or depth. Many dinoflagellates are known to be bioluminescent. Laboratory experiments have provided insight into the ...

At night, the waters emit a blue glow from organisms called dinoflagellates that live in the waters and light up when disturbed by boats, paddles or hands dipped in the water. Hundreds of ...