The chlorophyll in plants creates a sudden change in the light that comes from exoplanets. Can it be used as a biosignature?
Exoplanet scientists have worked on the idea of the VRE as a biosignature for a few years. It’s based on the fact that chlorophyll absorbs light in the visible part of the spectrum and is almost transparent in the infrared. Other cellular structures in the vegetation reflect the infrared. This helps plants avoid overheating during photosynthesis.
The paper focuses on how the fluorescence from chlorophyll could be detected on planets similar to Earth. “This study examined the detectability of biological fluorescence from two types of photosynthetic pigments, chlorophylls and bacteriochlorophylls , on Earth-like planets with oxygen-rich/poor and anoxic atmospheres around the Sun and M dwarfs,” the authors explain.
Machinery inside the chloroplasts of plant cells converts sunlight to energy, emitting fluorescence in the process. Scientists can detect the fluorescence fingerprint in satellite data. Credit: NASA Goddard’s Conceptual Image Lab/T. Chase The bright sunlit crescent contrasts with the darker lighting of twice-reflected light supplied by sunlight reflecting off our own planet. Credit: Bob King
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