Science

The ‘Sassy Sparkler’ Sea Worm: Nature’s Deep-Sea Light Show

Gianni Sarcone

While exploring the Chile Margin along South America’s coastline, researchers made a dazzling discovery with their robotic explorer, ROV SuBastian: the iridescent ‘sassy sparkler‘ sea worm.

At first glance, this deep-sea polychaete worm appears unremarkable with its bristly body. But as it moves, its shimmering bristles reflect light, creating a pink iridescent glow. The secret lies in nanoscale structures within the bristles that act like prisms, scattering light to produce shifting colors depending on the angle of view.

This optical illusion not only mesmerizes but also serves practical purposes. The worm’s changing hues help with camouflage, communication, and UV protection in the deep ocean.

Polychaetes like the ‘sassy sparkler’ play essential roles in marine ecosystems, thriving in extreme environments like hydrothermal vents and contributing to nutrient cycling in ocean depths.

Through the Eyes of Insects

Gianni Sarcone

The compound eye is nothing like the human eye, but we often misunderstand how insects see the world. In horror movies, their vision is depicted as a chaotic kaleidoscope. In reality, it’s much more refined—like viewing the world through a crystal-clear glass paperweight. 

What’s even more fascinating? Some insects have vibrant color patterns on their compound eyes that serve a purpose! These patterns act as filters, enhancing contrast to help them spot objects against colorful backgrounds or shielding their eyes from certain wavelengths of light.

Take the Deer Fly and Horse Fly, for example—both flaunt these functional designs. But the Green Lacewing (Chrysopidae) takes the crown for the wildest look. Its compound eyes create a diffraction pattern resembling a sheriff’s star, formed by the countless six-sided “ommatidia” that make up its eye structure.

The Wonders of Compound Eyes

Insect compound eyes are made up of thousands of tiny units called ‘ommatidia’, each acting like a mini-eye. This gives insects a near-panoramic view, perfect for spotting motion and environmental changes. Dragonflies, for example, have around 30,000 ommatidia per eye, making them masters of motion detection.

While human eyes, with their single lens and dense photoreceptors, excel at detail and depth, they lack the wide-field motion awareness of compound eyes. Insects also outshine us in speed, detecting rapid movements crucial for survival.

Many insects see ultraviolet light—something humans can’t. This unique vision aids in finding food, communication, and mating. Compound eyes are a brilliant mix of structure and function!

Gliding Patterns: The Anomalous Motion Illusion

Gianni Sarcone

Let your gaze wander across the image below. Do the shapes in the first and third rows seem to subtly shift leftward, while the second and fourth rows appear to glide rightward?

© Gianni A. Sarcone, Gliding Patterns, 1999

Now, let your gaze wander across the image below. Do the concentric circles appear to subtly counter-rotate?

© Gianni A. Sarcone, Counter-Rotating Circles, 1999

Why do these static images appear to move? This perceptual phenomenon, known as “anomalous motion” or “peripheral drift illusion”, results from the interplay of color contrast, luminance, and eye movements. It occurs due to a sawtooth luminance grating in the visual periphery, where a sequence of contrasting colors transitions from light to dark. The speed of the perceived motion is influenced by the frequency of microsaccadic eye movements.

In the 1990s, I began creating many of these fascinating images, experimenting with patterns and contrasts to bring this mesmerizing effect to life.

Fine art prints and merchandise of these mesmerizing pieces are available in my online gallery—a perfect addition to any space!

Mesmerizing Color-Changing Squid

Gianni Sarcone

Squids are basically the chameleons of the sea, and their secret weapon? Chromatophores—tiny skin cells that let them pull off some mind-blowing color changes. Whether it’s blending into a coral reef or throwing out some serious “back off” vibes, these little guys do it all. Right now, though, this squid seems to be saying: “Hey genius, put me back in the water before you turn me into calamari!”

Chromatophores of the Squid: How Do They Work?
Chromatophores are pigment-containing cells found in the skin of squids and other cephalopods. These cells expand and contract to display different colors, allowing the squid to blend into its surroundings, communicate with others, or signal threats. They play a vital role in the squid’s survival.

Stardust

Gianni Sarcone

Here’s the recipe to make an average-sized human: 15 kg of carbon, 4 kg of nitrogen, 1 kg of calcium, half a kg of phosphorus, 200 g of sodium, 150 g of potassium, 150 g of chlorine, a few grams of about 15 other elements (some exotic, like selenium, lithium, and vanadium in trace amounts), and four 10-liter buckets of water.

The 40 liters of water can be made by combining 5 kg of hydrogen and 35 kg of oxygen. Commercial cost? Just a few euros.
The hydrogen and a pinch of lithium come from the Big Bang, about 15 billion years ago. The other ingredients are more recent; they required billions of years of cosmic evolution, with stars being born, shining, dying, and reforming in nebulae from stellar collapse.
The 15 kg of carbon was formed in a star’s final stages by combining three helium atoms. The 35 kg of oxygen came from the fusion of carbon and helium in extremely hot stars. Iron is the ash of spent stars, and calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, sodium, and nitrogen also come from these stellar forges.
Traces of even heavier elements reach us from supernovae. In short, we are born from the stars.

Perspective Optical Illusions: The art of circling the square

Gianni Sarcone

When bending the sides of a square structure forward, each edge forming a sine wave shape, the structure reveals a circle when viewed from the reverse angle. This illusion plays with perspective, specifically utilizing an effect known as “anamorphosis“.

Anamorphosis refers to a artistic technique that uses perspective to create distorted images that can only be viewed correctly from a specific angle.

Two Mind-Bending Aquariums

Gianni Sarcone

At first glance, they seem to be the same, but take a closer look… Can you spot what’s wrong?

I’ve always been fascinated by impossible figures, which psychologists call “undecidable figures”, meaning visual representations that challenge our perception and understanding of reality. Since the late 1980s, I’ve continued to explore this field and create new illusions, producing a series of drawings that play with the third dimension, manipulating perspectives and proportions to create original visual effects.

My work draws inspiration from two masters of optical art and impossible objects: Josef Albers and Oscar Reutersvärd. Their innovations and creations have always inspired and motivated me to continue my research in this field.

The Red Wine Color Illusion

Gianni Sarcone

Does the color of wine change when poured into a glass?
Although it may appear darker, the red shade remains the same. This visual trick is a result of the Munker-White illusion—where our brain perceives colors differently depending on their surrounding context.

If you’re fascinated by puzzles like this, reach out to my syndication agent to feature them in your publication.

This op art piece is also available as prints and canvases in my online gallery.

Quando l’arte incontra la scienza: l’enigmatica Moona Lisa

Gianni Sarcone

Sono felice di condividere che la mia opera congiunta Moona Lisa, realizzata in collaborazione con l’astrofotografa Marcella Giulia Pace, è ora esposta presso il Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia dell’Università di Firenze. Potete scoprire di più su quest’opera qui: Moona Lisa – UniFi. Moona Lisa sarà inoltre parte della mostra permanente di Enlighting Ming, un’esposizione dedicata alla connessione tra arte e scienza.

Il prossimo 13 dicembre, Marcella terrà un seminario al dipartimento dal titolo preliminare “Moona Lisa e l’enigma della luna”, dove esplorerà il mistero e la bellezza della nostra opera attraverso la lente dell’astrofotografia.

Per chi fosse interessato ad acquistare l’opera sotto forma di stampa, potete farlo nella mia galleria online: Redbubble.