For the past several days, waves along the west coast from La Jolla to Carlsbad have been lit up a cool neon blue after sunset, producing some pretty epic photos on social media.

The ocean is glowing, and marine biologist Michael Latz with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, U.S. says that it’s all because of a microscopic organism.

He says that the cause of what is called a Red Tide event is a rare red tide algae bloom filled with microscopic glow-in-the-dark plankton that illuminate as a defense mechanism.

"So a predator grabs them to try and eat them," says Latz, "and they respond with a flash of light to disrupt the feeding."

But he says that any strong force will trigger the response, including being tossed around by breaking waves.

There’s no telling how long the event will last, but for now it’s a photographers dream.