Could We Detect Plants on other Planets?

Written by Nicholos Wethington

We’ve already found over 250 extrasolar planets, and more are continuing to be discovered fairly often. With all of these new planets popping up, the obvious question must be asked: how do we go about detecting whether or not they contain life? Though we can’t yet see features on the surface with even the most powerful of telescopes – and probably won’t be able to do so for a very long time – an analysis of the light coming from the planet may reveal if it is covered with life in the form of plants.

Dr. Luc Arnold of the CNRS Observatoire de Haute-Provence in France suggests that a spectral analysis of the light reflected off of a planet could determine whether or not it is covered with vegetation.

Full article here:

http://www.universetoday.com/2007/12/05/could-we-detect-plants-on-other-planets/