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I wasn't aware that rotting wood could be bioluminescent until I saw it myself one night during a walk in the woods. I was familiar with the terrain which enabl

I wasn't aware that rotting wood could be bioluminescent until I saw it myself one night during a walk in the woods. I was familiar with the terrain which enabled me to navigate at night without torchlight. My eyes were accustomed to the dark, I wouldn't have spotted it otherwise. On seeing the mysterious glow I turned on my torch to inspect - it was an oak branch tinged with a characteristic blue color, and very wet, the texture of the wood was very soft. Location: Surrey, UK.

dekhn 2y ago
I used to have extremely good dark adaptation and was able to navigate trails in pitch-dark (no moon) nights, by looking away (the sides of your vision are more sensitive to faint light) and sort of defocusing... I'd see the shape of the trail glowing slightly, and I believe it was bits of overturned wood that had been rotting. It's really subtle. Would only notice it on completely dark nights entirely away from any light sources, and even then, only on trails that had been recently traversed.
- com2kid 2y ago
  Night vision is one of the things I miss most about being really young. Driving at night used to be fun! And I was easily able to walk around in near pitch black. Plenty other things can be maintained with good health and exercise, but night vision isn't ever coming back. :(
  - dekhn 2y ago
    Yeah, I'm 52 and at some point in the last ten years, night driving became really painful. I don't know how much of it is due to my eyes changing, versus "improvements" in headlights (of oncoming traffic; I notice that old lights have a nice warm dim yellow, while newer lights tend to be a bright cold white). or from grease on my inner windshield :(. But yeah, it totally turns what used to be a routine and relaxing process into an exercise into "is that a tree or a person dressed in dark clothing?"
    - qup 2y ago
      I don't think this is exactly what you're talking about, but thought I'd drop a hint for anyone struggling with twilight driving: Use your visor to block out the sky. It's brighter than the road part of the scene, and it forces your eyes to pick the wrong "exposure." Blocking it helps quite a bit.
      - theturtle32 2y ago
        Similarly, if you've had LASIK and struggle with halos and starbursts around taillights and headlights, try increasing the brightness of your instrument panel. It will cause your irises to close in response to the brighter light, which allows less light in through the uncorrected area of your corneas. Basically: in LASIK surgery they only apply correction to the very center area of your cornea, and the more your irises open, the more of those higher order aberrations you will see.
        mc3301 2y ago
        Interesting. I had "S.M.I.L.E" surgery about 8 years ago, and I find the opposite to be better for me. At night, I dim my instrument panel to as dark as possible.
    - dhaugshs 2y ago
      [dead]
    - 7thaccount 2y ago
      It isn't necessarily your eyesight. I'm in my 30s and have great eyesight and have noticed that with vehicles getting taller (especially trucks) and lights getting much brighter that oncoming traffic can really shine right into your eyes and make driving at night a pain. I'm convinced it's entirely a problem of our own fault that really impacts drivers of normal cars.
- fallinditch 2y ago
  When walking in woodland at night in very dark conditions without a torch, another good technique is to look up at the shape of the tree branches silhouetted against the sky - you can often discern where the trail goes.
tomcam 2y ago
I mean Surrey borders on magical as it is... Love that place
n4r9 2y ago
> My eyes were accustomed to the dark, I wouldn't have spotted it otherwise. Funny you say that; my partner is a mycologist and her reaction to the linked article was that the luminescence is typically too weak to be very noticeable or useful.
- lightedman 2y ago
  Perhaps they are like me and have additional sensitivity to yellow and UV. Things which are dim or nearly-invisible for most are moderately visible to me, like the Pleiades for an example.

dekhn 2y ago

I used to have extremely good dark adaptation and was able to navigate trails in pitch-dark (no moon) nights, by looking away (the sides of your vision are more sensitive to faint light) and sort of defocusing... I'd see the shape of the trail glowing slightly, and I believe it was bits of overturned wood that had been rotting. It's really subtle. Would only notice it on completely dark nights entirely away from any light sources, and even then, only on trails that had been recently traversed.

com2kid 2y ago
Night vision is one of the things I miss most about being really young. Driving at night used to be fun! And I was easily able to walk around in near pitch black. Plenty other things can be maintained with good health and exercise, but night vision isn't ever coming back. :(
- dekhn 2y ago
  Yeah, I'm 52 and at some point in the last ten years, night driving became really painful. I don't know how much of it is due to my eyes changing, versus "improvements" in headlights (of oncoming traffic; I notice that old lights have a nice warm dim yellow, while newer lights tend to be a bright cold white). or from grease on my inner windshield :(. But yeah, it totally turns what used to be a routine and relaxing process into an exercise into "is that a tree or a person dressed in dark clothing?"
  - qup 2y ago
    I don't think this is exactly what you're talking about, but thought I'd drop a hint for anyone struggling with twilight driving: Use your visor to block out the sky. It's brighter than the road part of the scene, and it forces your eyes to pick the wrong "exposure." Blocking it helps quite a bit.
    - theturtle32 2y ago
      Similarly, if you've had LASIK and struggle with halos and starbursts around taillights and headlights, try increasing the brightness of your instrument panel. It will cause your irises to close in response to the brighter light, which allows less light in through the uncorrected area of your corneas. Basically: in LASIK surgery they only apply correction to the very center area of your cornea, and the more your irises open, the more of those higher order aberrations you will see.
      - mc3301 2y ago
        Interesting. I had "S.M.I.L.E" surgery about 8 years ago, and I find the opposite to be better for me. At night, I dim my instrument panel to as dark as possible.
  - dhaugshs 2y ago
    [dead]
  - 7thaccount 2y ago
    It isn't necessarily your eyesight. I'm in my 30s and have great eyesight and have noticed that with vehicles getting taller (especially trucks) and lights getting much brighter that oncoming traffic can really shine right into your eyes and make driving at night a pain. I'm convinced it's entirely a problem of our own fault that really impacts drivers of normal cars.
fallinditch 2y ago
When walking in woodland at night in very dark conditions without a torch, another good technique is to look up at the shape of the tree branches silhouetted against the sky - you can often discern where the trail goes.

tomcam 2y ago

I mean Surrey borders on magical as it is... Love that place

n4r9 2y ago

> My eyes were accustomed to the dark, I wouldn't have spotted it otherwise. Funny you say that; my partner is a mycologist and her reaction to the linked article was that the luminescence is typically too weak to be very noticeable or useful.

lightedman 2y ago
Perhaps they are like me and have additional sensitivity to yellow and UV. Things which are dim or nearly-invisible for most are moderately visible to me, like the Pleiades for an example.