What type of athmosphere would a planet with red and pink trees have

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter tyquniaum
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Planet Trees Type
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

A hypothetical planet with red and pink vegetation could maintain an oxygen-rich atmosphere similar to Earth, regardless of plant color. The color of the sea on such a planet would primarily depend on water absorption properties rather than atmospheric color. For instance, water absorbs red wavelengths more deeply, which influences the perceived color of the sea. The discussion highlights that chlorophyll's absorption characteristics are tied to the sun's output spectrum, suggesting that plant color evolution is directly influenced by the light from the star.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of chlorophyll and its absorption spectrum
  • Knowledge of light absorption properties of water
  • Familiarity with planetary atmospheres and their effects on color perception
  • Basic concepts of photosynthesis and plant evolution
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the absorption spectrum of chlorophyll and its implications for plant color
  • Explore the relationship between water color and atmospheric conditions
  • Investigate the effects of different star types on planetary vegetation
  • Examine the scientific consensus on the evolution of plant color in extraterrestrial environments
USEFUL FOR

Astronomers, astrobiologists, and science fiction writers interested in planetary ecosystems and the visual characteristics of alien worlds.

tyquniaum
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
If a planet had red and pink plants and vegitation what kind of athmosphere would it have.If it had a purple sky and it was 112 million miles from a blue sun what kind of athmosphere would create yellow transparent water instead of green or blue.
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
Hi tyquniaum! :smile:

Plants using chlorophyll have to be green (I think).

But there are other ways of getting energy, even on Earth.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_algae" …
The red algae (or Rhodophyta, pronounced /roʊˈdɒfɨtə, ˌroʊdəˈfaɪtə/, from Greek: ῥόδον (rhodon) = rose + φυτόν (phyton) = plant, thus red plant) are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae,[2] and also one of the largest, with about 5,000–6,000 species [3] of mostly multicellular, marine algae, including many notable seaweeds.

So even an Earth-like planet can have red and pink plants and vegetation. :smile:

And I think the colour of the sea is mostly caused by the way water absorbs different colours (and by what's in the water), and so has almost nothing to do with the atmosphere.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Last edited:
Arch2008 said:
The Earth's seas reflect the sky's blue color,
False on two counts.

1] Technically, water is very faintly blue. (However this is not a strongly contributing factor to the observed colour of our seas.)

2] Large volumes of water preferentially absorb red wavelengths of light. (This obvious once you realize that the red colours are absorbed more the deeper you go. If it were an atmo thing, it wouldn't be so.)


http://www.dartmouth.edu/~etrnsfer/water.htm
 
Last edited:
Arch2008 said:
Or not:
http://www.answers.com/topic/why-is-the-sea-blue
"Eminent authority can be found to support almost any explanation."
:)

I am dubious about the veracity of answers of answers.com. Nonetheless, it actually corroborates my claim. Sea colour is not a reflection of atmo colour. I listed two other sources of the colour. I didn't mean to suggest they were the only ones.

I do grant that the colour of the atmo would surely influence the perception of the colour of the sea, true. (A red atmo over the (blue) sea would not look red or blue, it would look black.)
 
I found it ironic that in your link, the deep blue lake reflects the white mountains...and the sky.
 
Arch2008 said:
I found it ironic that in your link, the deep blue lake reflects the white mountains...and the sky.
So I guess then, in my orange bathroom, the colour of the water in my bathtub is orange?
And I guess the colour of the mirror in my bedroom is yellow, since that's the colour of the walls it reflects?

i.e.: Reflection is a whole different animal.
 
I assumed the question was meant the other way around.
chlorophyll absorbs green because it's the peak of the sun's output in the visible, if it had been on a planet where blue and green light is absorbed it would have evolved to absorb red/pink.
 
  • #10
mgb_phys said:
I assumed the question was meant the other way around.
chlorophyll absorbs green because it's the peak of the sun's output in the visible, if it had been on a planet where blue and green light is absorbed it would have evolved to absorb red/pink.

Actually, chlorophyll reflects green and absorbs red and violet; that's why leaves appear green. There are a lot of guesses as to why, like http://www.livescience.com/environment/070410_purple_earth.html, but I don't know what the current scientific consensus is.
 
  • #11
Wouldn't the color of the plants have to do with the wavelength of light from the star?
 
  • #13
tyquniaum said:
If a planet had red and pink plants and vegitation what kind of athmosphere would it have.If it had a purple sky and it was 112 million miles from a blue sun what kind of athmosphere would create yellow transparent water instead of green or blue.

I'm not sure what the atmosphere on the planet would be like, but I'm sure that the local residents would be unnecessarily hairy and their dialect would tend to be filled with entertainingly nonsensical rhyming words.

Oh yeah, and they like to eat green eggs and ham.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
2K
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
4K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
3K
  • · Replies 41 ·
2
Replies
41
Views
8K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
4K
  • · Replies 40 ·
2
Replies
40
Views
4K