Alien planets might teem with purple — yes, purple — life

NASA has already spotted a diversity of rocky, Earth-like worlds in the cosmos. But unlike our verdant planet, many of these worlds may flourish with purple life — if life exists out there, that is. It's easy to imagine organisms elsewhere resembling the colors of trees, algae, grasses, and beyond that dominate our Earthly reality. This green life soaks up certain light waves from the sun to fuel energy-creating photosynthesis, and the green-pigmented compound chlorophyll helps drive this profoundly successful …