Surface biosignatures of exo-earths: remote detection of extraterrestrial life.

ABSTRACT: Exoplanet discovery has made remarkable progress, with the first rocky planets having been detected in the central star's liquid water habitable zone. The remote sensing techniques used to characterize such planets for potential habitability and life rely solely on our understanding of life on Earth. The vegetation red edge from terrestrial land plants is often used as a direct signature of life, but it occupies only a small niche in the environmental parameter space that binds life on present-day Earth and has been widespread for only about 460 My. To more fully exploit the diversity of the one example of life known, we measured the spectral characteristics of 137 microorganisms containing a range of pigments, including ones isolated from Earth's most extreme environments. Our database co

SUBMITTER: Hegde S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4386386 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature