ALIENS might not be the color you think they are, scientists explain in a new study.
New research from Cornell University indicates that Earth-like planets could look drastically different from what we expect.
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On Earth, we’re used to associating life with shades of green and lushness.
However, alien planets might not be green at all – instead, they might be purple thanks to bacteria that don’t receive much visible light.
If confirmed, these bacteria could make it easier for scientists on Earth to detect alien life.
The study was published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
“Using life on Earth as our guide, we look beyond green landscapes to expand our ability to detect signs of surface life on other worlds,” the study reads.
“While oxygenic photosynthesis gives rise to modern green landscapes, bacteriochlorophyll-based anoxygenic phototrophs can also color their habitats and could dominate a much wider range of environments on Earth-like exoplanets,” it added.
An exoplanet is a planet that is located outside of our Solar System and one that is orbiting its own sun.
They are typically hard to spot with telescopes because their respective suns often hide them with their luminosity.
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Currently, more than 5,500 exoplanets are uncovered and purple bacteria may help us locate more.
WHAT’S UP WITH PURPLE BACTERIA?
First author Dr. Lígia Fonseca Coelho from the Carl Sagan Institute said that Purple bacteria can thrive under a wide range of conditions.
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In turn, that makes them “one of the primary contenders for life that could dominate a variety of worlds.”
Purple bacteria emit a certain type of ‘light fingerprint’ that could be picked up by advanced space telescopes, like Nasa’s James Webb.
James Webb is equipped with several tools like its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam).
NIRCam has three specialized infrared filters to showcase different details of a planet.
What is an exoplanet?
Here’s what you need to know…
- An exoplanet is a planet that is located outside of our Solar System and one that is orbitting its own star, like how Earth orbits the Sun
- They are very hard to see with telescopes because they are often hidden by the brightness of their star
- Nasa sent the Kepler space telescope into orbit with the purpose of finding Earth sized exoplanets that might support life
- Over 5,500 exoplanets have been discovered so far and more missions to find even more exoplanets are planned
- A good way to spot an exoplanet is to look for “wobbly” stars because a disruption to star light can indicate that a planet is orbitting it and therefore blocking out light on occasion
- Exoplanets are very common in the Universe and the more we find that look like Earth the closer we get to knowing if we’re not alone out there
Since infrared light is invisible to the human eye, the light has been mapped onto the visible spectrum.
Now the research team is cataloging the colors and chemical signatures from a range of organisms and minerals that would be present in an exoplanet’s reflected light.
Co-author Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger said, “We need to create a database for signs of life to make sure our telescopes don’t miss life if it happens not to look exactly like what we encounter around us every day.”
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“We are just opening our eyes to these fascinating worlds around us,” Kaltenegger said.
“If purple bacteria are thriving on the surface of a frozen Earth, an ocean world, a snowball Earth or a modern Earth orbiting a cooler star,” Coelho echoed, “we now have the tools to search for them.”
