“Milk Sea” hit the camera for the first time

Stories of the ocean turning completely white have been passed down from sailor to sailor for centuries, but what sounded like nothing more than legend was caught on camera for the first time.

A superyacht called “Ganesha” traveled in the waters near Indonesia in the summer of 2019, when he passed through the milky sea, glowing in the dead of night.

The glow appears to have come from a source no less than 30 feet below the surface, and the seething white sea extended over 39,000 square miles.

The demonstration was the result of “glowing bacteria communicating with each other and causing a glowing response when critical populations are reached through a process called quorum sensing,” according to documentation of the events published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

“Both the color and intensity of the glow was like glow-in-the-dark stars/stickers or some watches with glowing details on the hands…very soft glow that is pleasing to the eye.”

In the summer of 2019, a superyacht named Ganesha was cruising the waters off Indonesia as she sailed through a milky white sea glowing in the dead of night. The photo shows a satellite image of the milky sea (X, Y)

The first report of the Sea of ​​Milk came from an American ship passing through the same area around Indonesia, near Java, on July 27, 1854.

And although many have since marveled at the curiosity, scientists have not been able to study them because of their remoteness and infrequentness – they appear at most twice a year, and sometimes do not appear at all.

The 2019 milky sea pictures were taken in August when Captain Johan Lemmens, along with six other crew members, set off on a circumnavigation.

The ship passed outside of Java as it traveled between Lombok, Indonesia, and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean.

The film crew filmed the scene using a Go-Pro camera and a better camera on a Samsung Galaxy S9+ phone, and satellite imagery from the same day was collected to confirm that the meeting was actually an elusive sea of ​​milk.

“Ganesha suddenly entered these luminous waters, and after that, the entire ocean became significantly brighter than the night sky – maintaining a mostly uniform and steady glow to the horizon,” one crew member said in an interview.

The glow came from a source that was no less than 30 feet from the surface, and the seething white sea extended over 39,000 square miles.

A sample of this water from a bucket, collected without breaking the illumination at that location, contained a few dots of steady glow that darkened when agitated – a behavior opposite to that of “normal” bioluminescence.

“Similarly, the team noticed a darkened bow wave, but the ship’s trail had no noticeable change in brightness compared to the surrounding glowing waters.”

The film crew filmed the scene using a Go-Pro camera and a better camera on a Samsung Galaxy S9+ phone, and satellite images from the same day were collected to confirm that the meeting was actually an elusive sea of ​​milk.

“The saturation of these digital images has been increased to an intensity consistent with the crew’s memories,” the report says.

“Both cameras captured the essence of the widespread ocean glow in contrast to the dark sky along the horizon. The deck and railings of Ganesha appear dark, and the sail reflects the light coming from the ocean.

“These photographs serve as visual evidence of sailors’ written records over the centuries.”

This was stated by Stephen Miller, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Colorado at Fort Collins. The keeper that the sea of ​​milk lasted at least 45 nights.

What is bioluminescence? And what causes the sea shine?

Bioluminescence is the production or emission of light by a living being, which can cause the sea to glow in an incredible way.

The phenomenon is the result of a chemical reaction that occurs when chemical energy is converted into light energy. To do this, the being must carry a molecule called luciferin.

When luciferin reacts with oxygen, it creates light energy, which we perceive as light.

Bright: Photographer Tom Bowe said: “He was seen at various locations along the South Wales coast last week, though it’s a little unpredictable.”

While only a few terrestrial creatures, such as fireflies, can create their own light, about ninety percent of deep-sea marine life can emit bioluminescence—often the light they emit is blue or green, so it can easily pass through sea water. However, some of them emit red and infrared light to hunt in the near darkness of the deep sea.

Sea glitter – or – Noctiluca scintillans – Usually found in hotter climates, but heat in the UK means it has been seen on the Welsh coast.

Warm weather caused a rapid increase in the rate of growth and reproduction of plankton. As soon as there are more than 100,000 algae cells in one liter of water (which usually happens only in very hot and dry weather), the plankton “charges up” and creates a glow.

This happens only after dark, during the day the plankton usually has a rusty-brown color.

Natural phenomenon: Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Light is created by a complex chemical reaction.