photo #6779406

This stunning image, composed of several photographs taken just over a year ago on the island of Soneva Fushi, Maldives, reveals an unusual combination of colors. The image shows the almost vertical descent of the full moon, which occurs because the observer is near the Earth's equator. As the moon approaches the horizon, the air and aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere preferentially scatter blue light, causing the moon, which reflects the reddish sun, to appear red.An even more unusual aspect is the blue light on the beach, emitted by bioluminescent plankton. These tiny creatures emit a blue light to surprise and deter predators. In this case, the blue light is the result of waves containing plankton breaking on the shore.