It turns out that putting a certain type of plankton under stress results in one of the most stress-relieving sights on the planet, their resultant blue glow creating astral patterns on sea shores.
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The natural phenomenon was captured by Taiwanese photographer Will Ho, who posted pictures of what he thought was 'blue sand' to Flickr.
The surreal appearance of the Maldives beach was actually down to a massive tide of bioluminescent phytoplankton called Lingulodinium polyedrum however.
The tiny organisms emit light when stressed, be it by the lapping of waves, the carving action of a surf board or other, creating what looks like a network of stars.