Germany’s Black Forest is in fact pretty green, but scientists at NASA predict that there may be real black forests on Earth-like planets orbiting stars emitting different wavelengths than our Sun. Photosynthesis on our planet absorbs essentially red and blue wavelengths of the visible spectrum, causing the plants to appear green to our eyes. On other worlds where life may have appeared, this process is expected to absorb different radiations, depending on the type of star the planet is orbiting. Thus, the local vegetation could appear orange, red, or completely black to human eyes.

As photosynthesis is a dominant process for life, it could be detected in distant planets as evidence that life has appeared and evolved there as well. However, the planet-finding process needs to be refined, as we are only currently able to locate Jupiter-like gaseous giants that are unlikely to harbor identifiable life forms.

The scientists studied light absorbed and reflected by organisms on Earth, and determined that if astronomers were to look at the light given off by planets circling distant stars, they might predict that some planets have mostly non-green plants.

Source: NASA

The search for an extra-solar planet with the same composition and size as Earth – therefore a good contender for the presence of life – is rendered extremely difficult by the glare of the star it orbits, and has often been compared to “looking for a firefly next to a searchlight.” Two scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, USA, have devised a new method to mask the glare of the star and thus increase the chances of finding a much dimmer body close to it.

Science-fiction fans may rejoice at the prospect of discovering a twin planet to ours, but we still will have a long way to go before we can build space ships able to travel to what will certainly be a very distant world. Whatever other life there may be in the Universe, it is still quite safe from Mankind’s interference.

For the first time ever, NASA researchers have successfully demonstrated in the laboratory that a space telescope rigged with special masks and mirrors could snap a photo of an Earth-like planet orbiting a nearby star. This accomplishment marks a dramatic step forward for missions like the proposed Terrestrial Planet Finder, designed to hunt for an Earth twin that might harbor life.

Source: Science Daily

A previous report on the absence of detectable water on an extra-solar planet had spurred the comparison with Frank Herbert’s famous “Planet Dune”, also known as Arrakis. New analysis of the data collected by the Hubble space telescope has shown that the planet is likely to harbor water in its atmosphere. Some scientists, however, remain skeptical as to the results of the analysis and suggest that it may simply be instrumental noise caused by the telescope itself.

Even if there is indeed water on “Arrakis”, this is not quite the place where space tourism is likely to flourish in the next centuries. With a surface temperature of about 1,000°Celsius and an orbit closer to its star than Mercury is to the Sun, this planet would certainly give you more than a mere suntan!

Source: New Scientist

Apollo missions packed all they needed on board and deliveries to the International Space Station (ISS) is straightforward compared to the complexity of interplanetary logistics. NASA is taking successfully delivery of supplies to future long-term bases on the Moon and Mars very seriously. Scheduling the vital shipments of food, fuel, or equipment will be assisted by a new software – called SpaceNet – developed by MIT’s Space Logistics Project. Inspired by existing terrestrial supply chains, the program will take into account the needs of different bases, the capabilities of the various vehicles, as well as the changes in the relative positions of the bases and the gravitational pull of the planets.

Source: MIT Space Logistics Project

The French National Space Agency has decided to set up a website making available to the general public all recorded UFO sightings over the national territory in the past 50 years. The goal of such a release of information was to give easier access to the data for research, but it crashed within hours of its opening due to an overload of traffic. If you see a beret-wearing alien with a baguette under its arm, check out your French phrase book and wish it a “bienvenue sur Terre” (”welcome to Earth”) before you report it.

France became the first country to open its files on UFOs on Thursday when the national space agency unveiled a website documenting more than 1600 sightings spanning five decades.

Source: New Scientist