Seaweed Under Ultraviolet Light, Bandon, Oregon

Seaweed glows bright red under ultraviolet light in a tide pool in Bandon, Oregon. The seaweed, a type of algae, contains phycoerythrin, which aids with phosynthesis. It captures wavelenghts of light that chlorophyll does not absorb well. When the plant starts to decay, it no longer passes that energy to the chlorophyll, but reflects it instead. Ultraviolet light produces fluorescence, a type of photoluminescence, in which certain chemicals absorb light that is invisible to human eyes and emit some of it at a different wavelength that we can see.

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Image Size: 7720x5149 / 40.3MB; ultraviolet ultraviolet light blacklight black light fluoresce fluorescence phosphor phosphors low tide tide beach nature psychedelic red glow glowing night sea sea life barnacle barnacles limpet limpets Pacific Ocean Pacific ocean Bandon tide pool pool algae marine water plant plants vegetation seaweed sea weed
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Seaweed glows bright red under ultraviolet light in a tide pool in Bandon, Oregon. The seaweed, a type of algae, contains phycoerythrin, which aids with phosynthesis. It captures wavelenghts of light that chlorophyll does not absorb well. When the plant starts to decay, it no longer passes that energy to the chlorophyll, but reflects it instead. Ultraviolet light produces fluorescence, a type of photoluminescence, in which certain chemicals absorb light that is invisible to human eyes and emit some of it at a different wavelength that we can see.