Purple Exoplanets Could Be Teeming with Alien Life
MJ Banias·April 17, 2024
A team of researchers from Cornell University has significantly expanded the range of potential surface biosignatures for Earth-like exoplanets beyond the traditional “green” chlorophyll-based photosynthesis.
The study, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, suggests that purple bacteria could serve as alternative biosignatures, potentially thriving on a much wider range of “purple exoplanets.”
The search for life beyond Earth has long focused on the “red edge” of vegetation, a distinctive spectral signature caused by chlorophyll in plants. However, this study proposes that looking at the spectra of a diverse collection of purple bacteria, including purple sulfur bacteria (PSB), purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB), and a purple cyanobacterium, may also hold clues for astronomers seeking that first hit of alien life outside of Earth.
“Purple bacteria can thrive under a wide range of conditions, making it one of the primary contenders for life that could dominate a variety of worlds,” explained the study’s lead author, Lígia Fonseca Coelho, a postdoctoral associate at the Carl Sagan Institute, in a press statement.
https://thedebrief.org/purple-exoplanets-could-be-teeming-with-alien-life/
Armchair Warrior 
I guess Sheb Wooley was right!