If on Earth, plants are usually green, it turns out that on other planets the color is not necessarily the same. So, what are the colors of plants on other planets?
According to How It Works, for years astrobiologists have been trying to determine what plant life might look like on other potentially habitable planets. On Earth, most plant species have a lush green color due to a pigment called chlorophyll. This pigment is very important for the process of photosynthesis.
Plants on our home planet appear green because of their ability to absorb all wavelengths of visible light. These wavelengths are reflected off the surface of the plant, making it appear green to the human eye.
Now to guess, what color plants in other worlds look like, the answer lies in the type of star the planet orbits. There are four stars of type F, G, K or M. Our sun is a type G star.
The following is an explanation of the types of F, G, K and M stars:
1. Star type G
About 40% of the electromagnetic radiation emitted from our Sun is the full color spectrum of visible light. Plants on Earth absorb all colors, especially the red and blue wavelengths. The energy of these two color wavelengths is what gives plants enough energy to carry out photosynthesis.
2. Star type F
Compared to our Sun, F-type stars are usually hotter, bluer, and emit more harmful ultraviolet light. When bombarded with abundant blue light, the theory is that plant life on exoplanets might reflect excess blue light and UV radiation for protection. Plants may appear with a bluish hue.
However, it is also possible that they have developed a way to harness blue light and reflect green and red. So it's possible they have a yellow tint.
3. Type K . star
Sitting between G and M type stars, it is difficult to predict the color of photosynthetic life on a planet orbiting a K type star. About the size of our Sun, plant life in this area may have evolved in a similar way to that on Earth. However, K-type stars give off less visible light and a greater amount of infrared light. This will cause the plants to photosynthesize with all the light they can get from their leaves, resulting in much darker foliage.
4. Star type M
With an average mass of about 0.3 times that of the Sun, M-type stars are some of the smallest known stars. This also means that the light energy they produce is minimal, but still sufficient to support photosynthesis. With such a limited amount of light, the plants around these stars may not be as picky about what wavelengths they absorb. They may not reflect any color and potentially appear black.
