Science photography competition reveals never seen before glowing critter
Submitted for the 2025 Beaker Street Science Photography Prize, photographer Ben Alldridge used specialised UV techniques to capture this Eastern Quoll in its natural habitat. It is thought to be the first image of the endangered animal biofluorescing in the wild. The photo was taken as wider research into the impact of light pollution (Picture: Ben Alldridge / SWNS)
The photography competition is part of the Breaker Street Festival in Tasmania running from the 6 to the 31st of August. The 12 finalist images will be displayed at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Hobart, Tasmania (Picture: Kelli Miller / SWNS)
Each image submitted to this year’s competition showcases the spectacular natural world, ranging from the all-consuming night sky to microscopic creatures, invisible to the naked eye. "This year's finalists really capture what Beaker Street is all about. Making science visible, beautiful and emotionally resonant," said Festival Founder and Executive Director Dr Margo Adler (Picture: Lily Barnett / SWNS)
Not only does the image above capture the Aurora Australis phenomenon but it also shows Tasmania’s Tessellated Pavement. This rare rock formation located an hour east of Hobart was formed 300 million years ago by natural erosion and movement causing the siltstone to crack, creating the illusion of manmade tiles (Picture: Jordan Cripps / SWNS)
The nickname “solar-powered sea slug” is often given to this cactus sea-slug due to its ability to photosynthesise. The green globules on its back contain chloroplasts, which is where the photosynthesis takes place, and therefore provides energy for the sea slug (Picture: Alison McNeice / SWNS)
Dr Margo Adler explains, "These photographs let us see the world differently, and in some cases quite literally reveal things we've never seen before." The 3mm tall Lamproderma gracile slime mould was just one of 175 species found by photographer Sarah Lloyd along a forest track (Picture: Sarah Lloyd / SWNS)
Photographer Nicolas Horniblow captures this Pallenella ambigua or Yellow Sea Spider, a much lesser-known marine animal. This marine arthropod relies on its exoskeleton to absorb oxygen from the sea rather than via a traditional respiratory system (Picture: Nicolas Horniblow / SWNS)
These two sea creatures are almost indiscernible from each other. The variable triplefin fish and eleven-armed sea-star stake out their territory along the shallow and rocky Blessington Coastal Reserve (Picture: Rosa Maria Cañedo-Apolaya / SWNS)
