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Fluorescent Glow may Reveal Hidden Life in the Cosmos

biofluorescence illustration
llustration by Wendy Kenigsberg/Matt Fondeur/Cornell University

Astronomers have uncovered a new way of searching for life in the cosmos. Harsh ultraviolet radiation flares from red suns, once thought to destroy surface life on planets, might help uncover hidden biospheres. Their radiation could trigger a protective glow from life on exoplanets called biofluorescence, according to new Cornell University research.

“Biofluorescent Worlds II: Biological Fluorescence Induced by Stellar UV Flares, a New Temporal Biosignature,” was published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

“This is a completely novel way to search for life in the universe...

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