Bioluminescence on Camera | National Geographic

here’s where we were last night right so
yeah we want to go up that way a little
bit
do we know anything about where we are
oh boy just Elliot can you quickly tilt
up a little bit okay not good that’s
nice yeah that’s good that’s good yeah
that’s excellent some more of that
please the starlight cameras reveal one
of the little-known wonders of the world
and a key to finding the giant squid
bioluminescence it’s normally too dim to
see but on a starry night like this it’s
perfect most people have no idea that in
fact most of the creatures down there
tonight have the ability to make life
that is really butter the extraordinary
mesmerizing look at that look at yeah
yeah the images are really quite special
like nothing that we’ve ever done or I
think indeed that nothing anyone’s ever
seen before the Starlight cameras show
something even stranger
seawater closed when stirred it’s
actually minut plankton illuminating
when agitated and this light is
especially clear when large creatures
swim through the water human giant squid
or even its miniature relative the
cuttlefish like the squid it moves
quickly using jet propulsion squirting
water through a tube under its head in
the dark
this jet produces a sparkling trail that
immediately reveals its position
the team hopes to find the giant squid
with its bioluminescent trail like the
Starlight cameras the giant squids eye
is enormous ly sensitive giant squids
have the largest eyes of any animal in
the animal kingdom I like to say that it
is the size of a human head
so look at each other and and just
imagine nothing but an eyeball sitting
on the shoulders and that gives a pretty
good idea of the maximum size of a giant
squid eyeball
the team believe they know what this is
for detecting the same Living Light the
Starlight camera see but will the system
work in the crushing deep of the giant
squids realm