Considers the possibility that the majority of a planet's photosynthetic life may be hidden in rocks or underwater, which would not give a biological signature in the spectrum of the planet. This may be the case on planets with extreme surface conditions.
Olympus Mons Micrometeorite
Number of posts : 6 Location : Texas Registration date : 2008-07-11
Subject: Re: Cryptic photosynthesis planets 30th September 2008, 10:30 pm
From what distance can this signature be detected?
Darkness nova Asteroid
Number of posts : 69 Location : Octans Registration date : 2008-06-12
Subject: Re: Cryptic photosynthesis planets 1st October 2008, 5:17 pm
Hmmm makes sense on the surface of it ((no pun intended))
However with erosion of said rocks organic material would be slowly released yes? With water it gets alot less likely to tell IMO unless it's something like phytoplankton.