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PUERTO RICO: Bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon where “living organisms emit light”, oftentimes when disturbed. You have probably seen this on land–fireflies lighting up the night–but it can also occur in the water. Mosquito Bay in Vieques Puerto Rico is the brightest glowing bioluminescent bay in the world.

In class, we dyed different cups of water with fluorescent highlighter ink (pink, yellow, green, blue), and then watched as the colors glowed brilliantly under a black light. Classes also saw their socks & shoes light up, and then tried scribbling on their hands with highlighters to produce an effect very similar to bioluminescence. Note: This made my hands itchy, so be sure to wash up immediately afterwards.

HERE is a list of a few more glow-in-the-dark projects to try at home. $1 glow-in-the-dark paints &/or glow sticks are always a great investment. There are Bioluminescent Kayaking Tours available in some parts of the country to see it in real life as well.

More Links: What’s behind the glowing waves?, Luz «azul eléctrico» en una escena nocturna, Sea of Stars, 18 Cool Water Experiments & Tricks

LINKS: Bioluminescence2, Bioluminescence3, Six Places to Witness Bioluminescence (Puerto Rico), An Ocean Full of Stars (Puerto Rico), The Glowing Bio Bay in Vieques (Puerto Rico), Bioluminescence Video (Puerto Rico), Bioluminescence Video (Puerto Rico)

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“Astronaut Jim Lovell, in his book Apollo 13, tells the harrowing tale of being lost in the dark. It happened in 1950 as Lovell was flying a night exercise mission from the aircraft carrier USS Shangri- La in his F2H Banshee. It was Lovell’s first night training mission when night flying from a carrier was in its infancy. Storm clouds erased any light from the moon or stars. Calamity hit as Lovell missed his critical rendezvous with his mission’s two other planes. His plane’s instruments mistakenly picked up signals from the Japanese mainland leading him away from his carrier group.

As Lovell tried to use his map light to read directions, everything went completely black. All of the electronics in his cockpit short-circuited. Every bulb on his control panel went dark. Lovell was hopelessly lost flying in circles over the rough, choppy Sea of Japan. Engulfed by total darkness, he lost any sense of up from down as well as any sense of night sky from sea.

Then in the darkness Lovell saw a light. Lovell describes it as “a faint greenish glow forming a shimmery trail in black water.” As a navy pilot Lovell immediately recognized what he saw. It was the trail of phosphorescent algae churned up by his ship’s propellers. Through the threatening darkness Lovell followed the “strange radiance” safely back to his carrier.” –Source, but widely Google-able story

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