NASA, Discovery News reports, has just found evidence of life on Earth. By locating yellow snow:
Using their Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on the EO-1 satellite, NASA has managed to identify a region of the Arctic where bacteria is staining the ice. Borup Fiord Pass on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic is unique in that it is the only known location on the planet where sulfur is being pumped to the surface via a natural spring over ice. The result is a dirty yellow stain with contrasting white surroundings.
When flying over the location in a helicopter, the yellow hue is obvious… but from space, it’s hard to spot. In fact, identifying such a small area would normally be impossible for a satellite, but NASA scientists are a smart bunch and they’ve overcome this problem.
Using a special sensor inside ALI called Hyperion, scientists have been able to see wavelengths of light that are invisible to our eyes.
Not only yellow snow, but yellow snow we could not ordinarily detect. Good for them!