Posted on 06/23/2007 9:19:29 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Plants on Earth are green because of chlorophyll, which harnesses the energy of the sun to make sugars for metabolism. But our plants aren't completely efficient -- they waste a little bit of light. "Ideally, what you want is a black molecule that absorbs all of the light," Blankenship said... They also are looking into the "red edge" effect. Seen at 700 nanometers out, beyond the limit of normal human vision, this reflectance spectrum is a signature of the fact that there is very intense chlorophyll absorption going on... "When you consider another world you've got to find that life there depends on photosynthesis in the broad sense, but it's probably not identical to the way that photosynthesis works here," Blankenship said. "You'll need molecules that absorb light that are highly colored, but whether they have the same green colors we know on Earth is unlikely." Similarly, on Earth life depends on DNA and proteins. But out there? "I don't think that there is anything magical about DNA in that it has to be the same out there as here," he said. "But there has to be some sort of information-carrying molecule -- again, highly unlikely the same as our DNA -- that has information coded in a way that allows the ability to transfer information. We've got proteins that do all of the dirty work in the cell in terms of chemistry. You can imagine a different sort of molecule that would do that sort of chemistry. Maybe it would have the same protein backbone with peptide bonds and so forth. But there's no reason to think it would be comprised of the same 20 amino acids that we have on Earth."
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Plants on extrasolar planets resembling Earth could be as black as these eggplants. Scientists who speculate on plant life and what might constitute photosynthesis "out there" say that plant color depends on the size and light intensity that the planet feeds off from its star, or sun, as well as the extrasolar planet's atmospheric chemistry. (Credit: iStockphoto)
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“... and after it rains, there’s a rainbow ...” /obscure
It’s just imagination they lack.
“I see a red edge and I want it painted black.” /adapted
Well, we could be looking at entire planets made out of moussaka...
L
That’s ‘Plants of Color’ to you.
...and the potato is in the nightshade family, so there...
...and among its relatives, the eggplant...
So is the tomato.
Therefore Eggplant Parmesan must be absolutely lethal...
L
2 trivia points each. Good job.
Anyway, if purple photosynthesis was too much for plants, black (absorbing at least almost all of the visible spectrum) would be even more energy for plants.
The idea behind the black chloroplasts is that the planets involved would be revolving around dim stars.
You mean we can deport Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton as well as Nifong through a Star Gate?
A whole new genre of Sci Fi movies is about to be created.
Noooooo! Not the black chlorophyl planet!Send me anywhere but there.....OR
Send us to the Soul Train Plain my main man! The black chlorophyl planet.
In any event, it will be interesting.
the new Sci American issue has this:
The Color of Plants on Other Worlds
On other worlds, plants could be red, blue, even black
by Nancy Y. Kiang
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-color-of-plants-on-other-worlds
http://www.sciam.com/media/inline/7FD3BC04-9821-D139-3BC25BB09D5EA8B8_1.jpg
http://www.sciam.com/media/cover/cover_2008-04.jpg
Local Color: Plants under Alien Suns Could Come in a Variety of Hues
by David Biello
April 2007
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=local-color-plants-under-alien-suns-come-in-variety-of-hues
http://space.newscientist.com/channel/space-tech/astrobiology/dn11578-for-plants-on-alien-worlds-it-isnt-easy-being-green.html
other old sources:
(Kiang) http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/kiang_01/
http://www.earthsky.org/radioshows/51294/seeking-life-on-alien-worlds-look-to-plants
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