Hello everyone,
My friend recently lent me his 365 UV torch and I’ve been like a big kid poking around and discovering this whole new, glowing world. I thought that this might be the right place to share some of my new discoveries…
Lichen turns into the most amazingly vivid colours, like abstract paintings.
Some shells glow orange and, curiously, the top shells all seem to have a central glowing dot at their peak (I’ve asked the folk at r/marinebiology whether they have any ideas as to why this is!)
My house is terrifyingly filthy. Will not be showing people my home with this torch!
It’s great for beach cleaning. The torch illuminates thin fishing wire which is particularly dangerous to wildlife but often hard to spot amongst tangled seaweed.
It turns out that I’ve picked up some magnesium glass whilst beachcombing.
6 & 7. Seaweed becomes even more beautiful under a UV light with the deep reds of the chlorophyll and almost neon oranges (I’m not sure what makes the orange colour, although these types are also brightly coloured under regular light)
It’s much easier to spot fossilised bivalves with a UV torch. I’ve found a lot of decent single specimens with it too.
My uranium glass pieces glow like something out of a comic book!
Rockpools that seem perfectly clear become milky-looking, as does the shallowest part of the incoming tide. I’m assuming it’s just particles of algae, plankton, etc but would be keen to learn more.
11 & 12. Rockpooling is fascinating. Crabs, shrimp and other critters look blue against the red algae. They’re so well-camouflaged against the seaweed under regular light but they’re easily revealed with the UV torch.
- I’m loving how some critters look so unassuming until they’re under the torch. I also discovered that the insides of a snail glow like a highlighter pen after accidentally stepping on one. Sorry wee snail, your final moments were very impressive.
by GirlInTheIslands
