Plants that are NOT green?

The March issue of the journal, Astrobiology, reported a study by NASA scientists that plants on planets in other solar systems might not be green.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration researchers have created a method to predict the color of plants by identifying the strongest candidate wavelengths of light for the dominant color of photosynthesis on another planet. They calculated what the stellar light would look like at the surface of Earth-like planets whose atmospheric chemistry is consistent with the types of stars they orbit. By looking at the changes in that light through different atmospheres, researchers identified the colors most favorable for photosynthesis on other planets.

The scientists said each planet would have different dominant colors for photosynthesis, based on its atmosphere where the most light reaches the planet's surface. The dominant photosynthesis might even be in the infrared!