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…
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Lichen turns into the most amazingly vivid colours, like abstract paintings.
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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!)
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My house is terrifyingly filthy. Will not be showing people my home with this torch!
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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.
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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)
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It’s much easier to spot fossilised bivalves with a UV torch. I’ve found a lot of decent single specimens with it too.
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My uranium glass pieces glow like something out of a comic book!
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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
