NASA Captured a Strange Glowing Creature in the Ocean Visible Even from Space: Here's What It Hides in the Deep Waters

Satellite images released by NASA show a strange fluorescent glow appearing somewhere in the Great Australian Bight and the Tasman Sea – so intense that it is visible even from space.

According to a report by EcoNews, this vivid, glowing sea creature was spotted via satellite from orbit.

NASA’s space-based observations, through the Earth Observatory, have long been monitoring oceanic conditions around the globe, transmitting high-resolution images of the planet and oceans in real time. Their satellites are equipped with sensors that measure light emissions, and scientists have confirmed that the glow is actually the result of blooming algae.

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On the NASA Ocean Facebook page, the following was posted earlier this year:

"Phytoplankton is blooming in the waters between the southeastern coast of Australia and Tasmania, in an area known as the Bass Strait. The region is known for its rough waters and numerous shipwrecks. The Bass Strait is the most direct sea route between the Great Australian Bight and the Tasman Sea, and the only access to the economically important Port Phillip."

Photo: Jordan Robins / SWNS / SWNS / Profimedia

The image of the glowing turquoise and green shades of blooming algae was captured by the OCI sensor on the PACE spacecraft in November of last year. However, this is not the first time that these plant-like filaments have been observed from space.

The VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) sensor on the Suomi NPP satellite recorded this phenomenon in January of last year, while NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites captured the first signs of the glow at the end of December 2023.

"The green trail we see is definitely blooming phytoplankton spreading along the edge of the continental shelf, at a depth of about 150 meters," said Jochen Kaempf, an oceanographer at Flinders University, who has previously published studies on phytoplankton in the area. "The blue trail could be sediments in shallow waters or another type of phytoplankton."

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Phytoplankton feeds on nutrients from the deep ocean, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which originate from decomposed remains of marine organisms. When this nutrient-rich water rises to the surface, the light from the so-called photic zone stimulates the growth of phytoplankton populations. This process leads to high concentrations of chlorophyll – the green pigment involved in photosynthesis, which causes the glow.

Marine ecosystems depend on phytoplankton, as it produces oxygen and forms the base of the food chain for many marine species.

Along the Bonney Coast, marine biologists estimate that algae blooms attract up to 80 blue whales each year, which come to graze, while crabs, sardines, anchovies, tuna, and other fish species also breed in these waters.