Simulation studies show that alien plants may appear black

According to a new simulation study, plants that appear black to the naked eye may evolve on planets that orbit two or more star systems, according to the US National Geographic website The research also suggests that such creatures may even develop their own mobile "sunshades" to avoid deadly solar flares The vitality of life on the earth comes from the grace of the sun, which drives the photosynthesis of plants, through which plants can synthesize sugars with the help of solar radiation and carbon dioxide in the air The distance between our sun and the earth, its color and temperature determine that the plants on the earth can absorb most wavelengths of light, but they do not absorb green light The light of this wavelength is reflected back into our eyes, so we feel that the plants are green But most of the other stars in the universe are different from the sun In the Milky way, more than 80% of the stars are dim red dwarfs Therefore, astrobiologists believe that plants living in the planetary world around such stars, if they also develop photosynthesis, will evolve different wavelength absorption patterns, thus presenting red, blue, yellow, purple or even gray black, so as to absorb limited light resources more effectively On the other hand, there are more than three out of ten star systems in the universe that contain two or more stars It is not clear how planets will evolve in such a multi star environment Jack o'malley-james, an Astrobiologist at the University of St Andrews in the UK, is the head of the simulation "We think that in such a multi light situation, plants may selectively choose a star as their preferred light source, rather than absorbing all the light sources of two stars," he said But around a star system with two faint red dwarfs, you may not have much choice but one color, maybe gray black " The threat of stellar flares James and his colleagues simulated a hypothetical planet orbiting a variety of binary and three star systems In some simulation cases, there are only red dwarfs in the stellar system, but in another part, we consider the combination of a red dwarf star and a sun like main sequence star, and even consider the planets around two sun like main sequence stars In most cases, the planets around get enough light for photosynthesis But James warns that the planetary worlds that orbit red dwarfs may need additional measures to ensure their survival "Red dwarfs are very dim, which means you have to be five times closer to the sun and earth to get enough light," he said But because red dwarfs have more intense and frequent flare events than the sun, it will threaten the survival of life " Therefore, James imagined that plants living in such a world should evolve some kind of "sunshade" to protect themselves from flares If the plants live in the water, they may evolve some detection mechanism Once they detect the arrival of flare particles, they will temporarily sink into the water to avoid, and then rise after the explosion, so as to protect their fragile photosynthesis mechanism And another Astrobiologist from the University of St Andrews, Dr James's thesis instructor, Jane Greaves, also said: "mobile plants can actively hide behind rocks to avoid solar flares That's really cool This study is the first time to make a specific assumption about the living mode of this particular living environment This is important because this stellar environment is the most common in the universe " Nancy Kiang is a biometeorologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center She has studied the possible color patterns of alien plants for many years But Nancy said she had never considered the possible color selection patterns of plants in a multi star system So she was eager to learn about James' research "I'd like to know how the shading structure of plants will evolve in the case of more than one stellar light source," she said How to search for "non green" plants? Speculation about the possible colors of alien plants and how they might behave is not just about curiosity Astronomers have begun to use large telescopes to observe the planetary world as far away as a few light-years away With extremely sensitive detectors, they try to detect whether there are photon signals reflected by plant leaves in the atmosphere of these planets, so as to know whether there are extraterrestrial life in the world of these planets Dr James's research will have an important reference value for the data analysis of these observation projects It will show analysts the way "We haven't reached that point yet, but we are at least beginning to know how to do it," grivis told the National Geographic editor In the next 10 years, we will get large equipment with the same caliber as the ESA telescope, which will greatly contribute to our research work This large telescope is expected to be built in 2018 " The European giant telescope (ELT), with a main aperture of 138 feet (42 meters), will be able to detect the composition information data in the atmosphere of exoplanets to help researchers determine whether there are alien life forms there The upcoming NASA James Webber space telescope will make such observations easier If space observation telescope array can be built, its resolution will be unparalleled and unprecedented However, due to the complex technology and high cost involved in such equipment, it is difficult to implement for the time being "There are really some very ambitious plans, but it all depends on whether they are determined to complete the construction of these large equipment according to the established schedule," said grivis