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Title: Observing the Earth as an exoplanet with LOUPE, the Lunar Observatory for Unresolved Polarimetry of Earth
Authors: T. Karalidi, D.M. Stam, F. Snik, S. Bagnulo, W.B. Sparks, C.U. Keller

The detections of small, rocky exoplanets have surged in recent years and will likely continue to do so. To know whether a rocky exoplanet is habitable, we have to characterise its atmosphere and surface. A promising characterisation method for rocky exoplanets is direct detection using spectropolarimetry. This method will be based on single pixel signals, because spatially resolving exoplanets is impossible with current and near-future instruments. Well-tested retrieval algorithms are essential to interpret these single pixel signals in terms of atmospheric composition, cloud and surface coverage. Observations of Earth itself provide the obvious benchmark data for testing such algorithms. The observations should provide signals that are integrated over the Earth's disk, that capture day and night variations, and all phase angles. The Moon is a unique platform from where the Earth can be observed as an exoplanet, undisturbed, all of the time. Here, we present LOUPE, the Lunar Observatory for Unresolved Polarimetry of Earth, a small and robust spectropolarimeter to observe our Earth as an exoplanet.

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VLT Rediscovers Life on Earth

By observing the Moon using ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have found evidence of life in the Universe - on Earth. Finding life on our home planet may sound like a trivial observation, but the novel approach of an international team may lead to future discoveries of life elsewhere in the Universe. The work is described in a paper to appear in the 1 March 2012 issue of the journal Nature.
The astronomers analyse the faint earthshine light to look for indicators, such as certain combinations of gases in the Earth's atmosphere, that are the telltale signs of organic life. This method establishes the Earth as a benchmark for the future search for life on planets beyond our Solar System.
The fingerprints of life, or biosignatures, are hard to find with conventional methods, but the team has pioneered a new approach that is more sensitive. Rather than just looking at how bright the reflected light is in different colours, they also look at the polarisation of the light, an approach called spectropolarimetry. By applying this technique to earthshine observed with the VLT, the biosignatures in the reflected light from Earth show up very strongly.
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