Alien life could exist on a purple planet instead of green: Study
Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
Discovery in Research
Recent research suggests that astronomers should focus on detecting purple hues to identify potential signs of life on distant planets.
Light Signals from Sunless Worlds
The study reveals that light signals from exoplanets lacking sunlight and oxygen differ significantly from those of Earth, where green chlorophyll dominates due to photosynthetic organisms.
Survival around Dim Stars
Scientists hypothesize that organisms on planets orbiting smaller, dimmer stars could survive using infrared light for metabolism, similar to infrared-powered bacteria found on Earth in environments like deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
Bacteria Studies by Astrobiologists
Published in *Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society*, the study led by Cornell University’s astrobiologist Ligia Fonseca Coelho involved growing various bacteria and analyzing their light reflection properties under simulated conditions resembling those on distant worlds.
Telescopic Capabilities
Future telescopes like the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile and the planned Habitable Worlds Observatory are expected to detect these unique light spectra indicative of alien life.
Database Creation
Lisa Kaltenegger, co-author and director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University, emphasizes the need for a comprehensive database to recognize signs of life that may differ significantly from Earth’s familiar examples.
Purple Bacteria’s Adaptability
Purple bacteria, known scientifically as Pseudomonadota, thrive in low-oxygen environments, demonstrating their potential existence in similar conditions on other planets.
Implications for Alien Life
Researchers conclude that depending on factors like surface coverage and cloud conditions, terrestrial planets could exhibit detectable signs of purple bacteria, suggesting “purple might just be the new green” in the quest for identifying surface life beyond Earth.