This New Optical Device Could One Day Detect Plant Life on Distant Alien Worlds

PETER DOCKRILL 20 FEB 2019

A new optical instrument that can detect plant-based organisms from kilometres away due to the unique way living things reflect light could one day help in the search for life beyond this planet, new research suggests.

The working prototype device – called the TreePol spectropolarimeter – is the result of years of research by Dutch biologist Lucas Patty from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. If his wild vision comes true, circularly polarised light could ultimately help us to detect extraterrestrial life.

In a new paper and PhD dissertation, Patty describes how the phenomenon of chirality (or molecular handedness) in biological systems affects the way they reflect light, resulting in fractional circular polarisation of light, which "constitutes an unambiguous biosignature".



(Lucas Patty)

Research into these kinds of biomarkers, which Patty has conducted since 2015, started off with instruments that could detect the rotation of reflected light off leaves in the lab, including ivy and ficus.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/this-new-optical-device-could-one-day-detect-plant-life-on-distant-alien-worlds?perpetual=yes&limitstart=1