Understanding the Purple Earth Hypothesis: Early Earth's Purplish Biosphere
By
colinprince
The kind of bagel that ruins lesser bagels for you.
Summary
The Purple Earth Hypothesis suggests that early photosynthetic life on Earth used retinal instead of chlorophyll, giving the biosphere a purplish appearance. This hypothesis dates back to the Archean eon, around 3.5 to 2.4 billion years ago.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe Purple Earth Hypothesis is an astrobiological hypothesis that the earliest photosynthetic life forms of Early Earth were based on the simpler molecule retinal.
It is estimated to have occurred between 3.5 and 2.4 billion years ago during the Archean eon.
The surface biosphere appeared purplish rather than its current greenish color.
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