To find alien life in our universe, scientists have considered searches for optical lasers or even giant energy-harvesting structures known as Dyson spheres. Now they’re suggesting a more mundane sort of search, a hunt for air pollution in exoplanet atmospheres. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/can-pollution-help-us-find-alien-life…
Tag: biosignatures
A unique prototype of microbial life designed on actual Martian material
Experimental microbially assisted chemolithotrophy provides an opportunity to trace the putative bioalteration processes of the Martian crust. A study on the Noachian Martian breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034, composed of ancient (ca. 4.5 Gyr old) crustal materials from Mars has delivered a unique prototype of microbial life experimentally designed on actual Martian material. As the researchers show in the current issue…
We could find extraterrestrial civilizations by their air pollution
Upcoming telescopes will give us more power to search for biosignatures on all the exoplanets we’ve found. Much of the biosignature conversation is centered on biogenic chemistry, such as atmospheric gases produced by simple, single-celled creatures. But what if we want to search for technological civilizations that might be out there? Could we find them by searching for their air pollution?…
If a planet has a lot of methane in its atmosphere, life is the most likely cause
The ultra-powerful James Webb Space Telescope will launch soon. Once it’s deployed and in position at the Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 2, it’ll begin work. One of its jobs is to examine the atmospheres of exoplanets and look for biosignatures. It should be simple, right? Just scan the atmosphere until you find oxygen, then close your laptop and head to the pub:…
Clues to Mars life in Earth’s Atacama Desert
Researchers in the U.S. and Spain have discovered a plethora of previously unknown microbes living in wet clay layers below Chile’s arid Atacama Desert. The finding will help future rovers search for life on Mars. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/microbes-clay-atacama-desert-life-on-mars…
Astronomers identify 24 possible superhabitable worlds
Are there worlds out there – orbiting distant stars – even better suited for life than Earth? Might they be older, larger, warmer, wetter and with longer-living stars? Now astronomers have identified 24 possible superhabitable worlds. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/superhabitable-exoplanets-better-suited-for-life-than-earth…
Searching for habitable exoplanets? Look for phosphorus
Scientists develop a new way to search for potentially habitable exoplanets by measuring the amount of phosphorus in their stars. Such planets should also have abundant phosphorus – necessary for life on Earth – increasing the chances for life. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/phosphorus-in-stars-and-biomarker-habitable-exoplanets…
Giant ‘survivor’ planet found orbiting dead star
For the first time, astronomers have detected a planet orbiting a white dwarf star. If further confirmed, the discovery shows that some planets could survive the destruction of their sun-like stars, and some might even remain potentially habitable. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/survivor-planet-wd-1856-b-orbiting-white-dwarf…
Has microbial life been found on Venus?
Is there microbial life in the atmosphere of Earth’s closest neighbor, Venus? An international team of astronomers has found tentative but highly compelling evidence. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/life-on-venus-phosphine-biosignatures…
The Case for Life on Venus
CNET describes Venus as “a toxic, overheated, crushing hellscape where nothing can survive.” But they reported Friday that one astronomy team’s hypothesis published last month “could prompt a reevaluation of how and where we look for life in the universe.” Carl Sagan speculated about life in the clouds of Venus back in 1967, and just a few years ago, researchers suggested…