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Detectability of life and photosynthesis on exoplanets.

Björn, Lars Olof LU orcid ; Papageorgiou, George C. ; Dravins, Dainis LU orcid and Govindjee, Govindjee (2009) In Current Science 96(9). p.1171-1175
Abstract
‘Is there life on exoplanets?’. We refer to exoplanets as planets in other solar systems than our own. This often

asked question can be further refined by asking ‘is there life on exoplanets which is so extensive that it may

impact on its atmosphere, its biosphere and its optical properties?’. And if such a life exists, at astronomical

distances from us, can we detect it with instruments on Earth-based or Earth-orbiting observatories? Will

then, in that case, our advanced knowledge of present-day and early-day photosynthesis on Earth help us

select appropriate biosignatures that may signal its presence? Here we elaborate further on these themes,

based on the most recent literature, and... (More)
‘Is there life on exoplanets?’. We refer to exoplanets as planets in other solar systems than our own. This often

asked question can be further refined by asking ‘is there life on exoplanets which is so extensive that it may

impact on its atmosphere, its biosphere and its optical properties?’. And if such a life exists, at astronomical

distances from us, can we detect it with instruments on Earth-based or Earth-orbiting observatories? Will

then, in that case, our advanced knowledge of present-day and early-day photosynthesis on Earth help us

select appropriate biosignatures that may signal its presence? Here we elaborate further on these themes,

based on the most recent literature, and from the point of view of photosynthesis. We also provide our considered

views. Although search for chlorophyll is considered desirable, we conclude that our best bet is to

look for and analyse photosynthesis-related gases, namely O2, CO2 and H2O vapour. We shall keep in mind

that the evolutionary tree of life on our planet has its roots in autotrophy, and of the various forms of autotrophy,

only oxygenic (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to specialist publication or newspaper
publication status
published
subject
keywords
chlorophyll, detectability, life, photosynthesis, spectrum
categories
Popular Science
in
Current Science
volume
96
issue
9
pages
1171 - 1175
publisher
Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences
external identifiers
  • wos:000266405600011
  • scopus:67650309218
ISSN
0011-3891
project
Popular science
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7ef3cd5a-7592-418a-b2a5-f50152e9db5c (old id 1420217)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:13:29
date last changed
2024-04-10 16:55:19
@misc{7ef3cd5a-7592-418a-b2a5-f50152e9db5c,
  abstract     = {{‘Is there life on exoplanets?’. We refer to exoplanets as planets in other solar systems than our own. This often<br/><br>
asked question can be further refined by asking ‘is there life on exoplanets which is so extensive that it may<br/><br>
impact on its atmosphere, its biosphere and its optical properties?’. And if such a life exists, at astronomical<br/><br>
distances from us, can we detect it with instruments on Earth-based or Earth-orbiting observatories? Will<br/><br>
then, in that case, our advanced knowledge of present-day and early-day photosynthesis on Earth help us<br/><br>
select appropriate biosignatures that may signal its presence? Here we elaborate further on these themes,<br/><br>
based on the most recent literature, and from the point of view of photosynthesis. We also provide our considered<br/><br>
views. Although search for chlorophyll is considered desirable, we conclude that our best bet is to<br/><br>
look for and analyse photosynthesis-related gases, namely O2, CO2 and H2O vapour. We shall keep in mind<br/><br>
that the evolutionary tree of life on our planet has its roots in autotrophy, and of the various forms of autotrophy,<br/><br>
only oxygenic}},
  author       = {{Björn, Lars Olof and Papageorgiou, George C. and Dravins, Dainis and Govindjee, Govindjee}},
  issn         = {{0011-3891}},
  keywords     = {{chlorophyll; detectability; life; photosynthesis; spectrum}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{9}},
  pages        = {{1171--1175}},
  publisher    = {{Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences}},
  series       = {{Current Science}},
  title        = {{Detectability of life and photosynthesis on exoplanets.}},
  volume       = {{96}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}