Space Industry and Business News  
EXO WORLDS
Astronomers expand cosmic "cheat sheet" in hunt for life
by Staff Writers
Ithaca NY (SPX) Jul 11, 2019

To understand where exoplanets are in their own evolution, astronomers can use Earth's biological milestones as a Rosetta stone.

Using nature's color palette from early Earth, Cornell University astronomers have created a cosmic "cheat sheet" in order to understand where discovered exoplanets may fall along their own evolutionary spectrum.

Jack O'Malley-James, a research associate at the Carl Sagan Institute, and Lisa Kaltenegger, professor of astronomy and director of the Carl Sagan Institute, co-authored "Expanding the Timeline for Earth's Photosynthetic Red Edge Biosignature" published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters [https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ab2769].

"In our search to understand exoplanets, we're using the early Earth and its biological milestones in history as a Rosetta stone," O'Malley-James said. "Scientists can observe surface biosignatures beyond vegetation on Earth-like exoplanets by using our own planet as the key for what to look for."

For the last half-billion years - roughly 10 percent of our planet's lifetime - chlorophyll, present in many familiar forms of plant life such as leaves and lichen, has been the key component in Earth's biosignature.

But other flora, such as cyanobacteria and algae, are much older than land-based vegetation, but their chlorophyll-containing structures leave their own telltale signs on a planet's surface.

"Astronomers had concentrated only on vegetation before, but with a better color palette, researchers can now look beyond a half-billion years and up to 2.5 billion years back on Earth's history to match like periods on exoplanets," Kaltenegger said.

"If an alien had used color to observe if our Earth had life, that alien would see very different colors throughout our planet's history - going back billions of years - when different life forms dominated Earth's surface."

O'Malley-James and Kaltenegger modeled spectra of Earth-like exoplanets with different surface organisms that use chlorophyll.

Lichens (a symbiotic fungal and photosynthetic partnership) may have colonized Earth's land masses some 1.2 billion years ago and would have painted Earth in sage to mint green colors. This coverage would have generated a "nonvegetative" photosynthetic red-edge signature. A red-edge signature is the part of the spectrum that helps keep planets from getting burned by the Sun.

"When we discover an exoplanet, this research gives us a much wider range to look back in time," Kaltenegger said. "We extend the time that we can find surface biota from 500 million years (widespread land vegetation) to about 1 billion years ago with lichen and up to 2 or 3 billion years ago with cyanobacteria."

Research Report: "Expanding the Timeline for Earth's Photosynthetic Red Edge Biosignature"


Related Links
Cornell University
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science
Life Beyond Earth


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


EXO WORLDS
Planet Seeding and Panspermia
Haifa, Israel (SPX) Jun 27, 2019
The first detection of an interstellar asteroid/comet-like object visiting the solar system two years ago has sparked the ideas about the possibility of interstellar travel. New research from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology suggests that such objects also raise far reaching implications about the origins of planets across the galaxy, and possibly even the initial formation of the solar system itself. The asteroid/comet-like object named "'Oumuamua" confirmed decades-old scientific expe ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

EXO WORLDS
RUBI - Full steam ahead for the ISS

Would your mobile phone be powerful enough to get you to the moon?

ThinKom completes technology validation on Telesat low-earth orbit satellite

ATLAS expands on-orbit customer base, bolsters global ground network

EXO WORLDS
Newly established US Space Agency offers sneak peek at satellite layout

AEHF-5 encapsulated and prepared for launch

Corps begins fielding mobile satellite communication system

AFRL demonstrates world's first daytime free-space quantum communication enabled by adaptive optics

EXO WORLDS
EXO WORLDS
Planes landing in Israel see GPS signals disrupted

NASA Eyes GPS at the Moon for Artemis Missions

Lockheed Martin Delivers GPS III Contingency Operations

China to complete BeiDou-3 satellite system by 2020

EXO WORLDS
University of Dayton gets $28.5M contract for F-15 sustainment study

Lockheed awarded $348.2M for F-35 Lot 12 production

Erdogan says US refusal to deliver F-35 jets would be 'robbery'

France to impose green tax on plane tickets

EXO WORLDS
Atomic 'patchwork' using heteroepitaxy for next generation semiconductor devices

Mysterious Majorana quasiparticle is now closer to being controlled for quantum computing

Hong Kong's extradition law jolts business community

Laser technique could unlock use of tough material for next-generation electronics

EXO WORLDS
Airbus to develop CO3D Earth Observation programme for CNES

Scientists discover the biggest seaweed bloom in the world

Winter monsoons became stronger during geomagnetic reversal

SSTL expertise enables new space mission for the FORMOSAT-7 weather constellation

EXO WORLDS
Cruise ship in Venice near-miss just weeks after dock incident

Indonesia to send 210 tonnes of waste back to Australia

US waste driving global garbage glut: study

Ecotax championed, contested and still marginal in EU









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.