Early Earth Was Purple

The earliest life on Earth might have been just as purple as it is green today, a scientist claims.
Ancient microbes might have used a molecule other than chlorophyll to harness the Sun’s rays, one that gave the organisms a violet hue.

Primitive microbes that used retinal to harness the sun’s energy might have dominated early Earth, DasSarma said, thus tinting some of the first biological hot-spots on the planet a distinctive purple color.

The researchers speculate that chlorophyll- and retinal-based organisms coexisted for a time.
“You can imagine a situation where photosynthesis is going on just beneath a layer of purple membrane-containing organisms,” DasSarma told LiveScience.
But after a while, the researchers say, the balance tipped in favor of chlorophyll because it is more efficient than retinal.


SOURCE:
LiveScience.com

This has got to be one of the more interesting things I've read in
awhile.

The Earth must have looked very cool back than, both when it was
only life that used Retinal (which would make totally purple), but also
when both kinds of life, those that used Retinal and those that used
Chlorophyll were in equal amount it must have looked really cool,
with lots of green and purple everywhere.


Comments, Opinions?

Ever been to Islamorada (Purple Island) in the Florida Keys? There is intense land based greenery in the form of Palms & other tropical vegetation in sharp contrast with the purple algae growing on the crushed coral in the shallow clear water. Truely beautiful.....

Weird!

I was reading a book today about the paranormal, Astral Projection and the Akashic records. I then spoke to someone about it who claims they have been to the Akashic Records of Earth and reported that there was an early civilization that was... PURPLE!

Way cool coincidence!!!

Nice a purple planet! Sure why not, after all what do we have in our own little solar system in terms of color variation?

• Mercury: grey;
  
  
• Venus: yellowish-white;
  
  
• Earth: light blue with white clouds;
  
  
• Mars: red-orange;
  
  
• Jupiter: has orange and white bands;
  
  
• Saturn: pale yellow;
  
  
• Uranus: light blue-green;
  
  
• Neptune: light blue-green;
  
  
• Pluto: light brown;
  

[edit on 10-4-2007 by greatlakes]

Hah I was just looking at this article on Fox.... pretty odd that the majority of all existing plant life do not make use of the powerful 'green' spectrum. Wonder why this would occur?

wow a purple earth how things change, but isnt it more blue than green nowadys thats what i thought

Originally posted by Alienhunters
wow a purple earth how things change, but isnt it more blue than green nowadys thats what i thought

Well from far away, yes Earth would look more blue than green, but the
purple would have been where we see green now-a-days.

I'm not a biochemist, but it may be possible to that the microbes in the
sea were using the samce process, so the whole planet could have
looked purple, sea and land.