How Plants Could Betray Themselves Across the Galaxy

How Plants Could Betray Themselves Across the Galaxy
By Mark Thompson (https://ift.tt/KQzIVWw)

Every green leaf on Earth does something remarkable, it absorbs visible light for photosynthesis but reflects near-infrared light back into space, creating a distinctive spectral signature that could in principle be spotted from across the Galaxy. It's called the vegetation red edge, and it may be our best hope of detecting life on distant worlds. Now a new study has tackled one of the biggest obstacles to using it, the messy, patchy reality of real planets with real clouds.

March 30, 2026 at 01:57PM
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