While vacationing on the Maldives Islands, Taiwanese amateur photographer Will Ho stumbled onto an incredible stretch of beach covered in millions of bioluminescent phytoplankton. These tiny organisms glow similarly to fireflies and tend to emit light when stressed, such as when waves crash or when they are otherwise agitated. While the phenomenon and its chemical mechanisms have been known for some time, biologists have only recently began to understand the reasons behind it. Photo: Bioluminescent phytoplankton washes up on Maldives beach. (Photo by Will Ho)

Aerial photography platform SkyPixel received 27,000 entries to its 2016 competition. Here are the winning shots plus some of our favourites. Here: Dam near perfect. Second prize in the same category was of the Huia Dam in Auckland, New Zealand. Hong Kong-based SkyPixel was launched in 2014. (Photo by Brendon Dixon/SkyPixel)

Photographer of the year second place. “Girl with the Violin”. Location: Colorado, US. Shot on iPhone 13 Pro. United States. (Photo by Kelly Dallas/Courtesy of the artist and IPPAWARDS)

American singer Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe, known mononymously as Tinashe attends the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center on September 12, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Lady Gaga attends Billboard's 10th Annual Women In Music at Cipriani 42nd Street on December 11, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images)

(L-R) Recording artists Ally Brooke, Normani Hamilton, Dinah-Jane Hansen, Lauren Jauregui and Camila Cabello of Fifth Harmony attend the 2016 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena on May 22, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

MMVA host model Gigi Hadid takes pictures with fans as she arrives for the iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards (MMVAs) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada June 19, 2016. (Photo by Peter Power/Reuters)

A model poses backstage at the White Carpet Blaque Runway fashion fundraiser at the Causey Contemporary Art Gallery on January 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)