Previous studies have investigated the remote appearance of Earth-like exoplanets in the prospect of retrieving biosignatures of planets orbiting extrasolar stars, utilizing the variation of (polarized) flux. However, these studies did not use horizontally inhomogeneous models that include (1) daily cloud observations of planet Earth accounting for different cloud parameters with (2) an underlaying Earth-like surface cover, for (3) a set of wavelengths covering the ultra-violet, visible and near-infrared spectral domain. We present simulations of spatially resolved disks and planetary phase curves of the total flux, degree of polarization and linearly polarized fluxes. We discuss the presence of spectropolarimetric signatures that can potentially be directly retrieved from future observations. Moreover, in the design of future telescopes the characteristics of these signatures may be considered.

We conclude that utilizing a set of wavelengths in the visible and near-infrared domain, could potentially allow one to retrieve information about the presence, abundance and micro-physical properties of clouds in the atmosphere of, and also the presence of an ocean cover on, an Earth-like exoplanet.

The detection of moons around extrasolar planets is one of the main focuses of current and future observatories. These silent companions contribute to the planets' observed signals but are barely detectable with current methods. Numerous gaseous exoplanets are known to orbit in the habitable zones of stars, and the expected abundance of natural satellites and their diversity in composition make them ideal targets when looking for habitable celestial bodies. Moreover, moons are suspected to play key roles in stabilizing a planet's rotational axis and hence its climate. We show that an exomoon orbiting an Earth-like exoplanet could be identified by measuring the flux and polarization of starlight reflected by the planet-moon system, allowing the characterization of their orbital motions and physical properties.