Advanced technology like TESS and Spitzer Space Telescope used to find and characterize exoplanets
Archean-like life requires methane, carbon dioxide, water vapor and absence of carbon monoxide in atmosphere
Cornell University suggests looking for purple glows from exoplanets to find signs of extreme alien life
International team discovers archean-like biosignatures on TRAPPIST-1e exoplanet
NASA's goals for exoplanet exploration include discovering, characterizing planets and identifying those with potential for life
In a groundbreaking discovery, an international team of astronomers and astrobiologists has demonstrated how to look for life on TRAPPIST-1e, an exoplanet located around a dim red dwarf star approximately 40 light-years away from Earth. The team crafted a model considering Archean-like conditions and how early life forms would consume certain elements while adding others. According to their findings, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, archean-like biosignatures require the presence of methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor in the atmosphere along with the absence of carbon monoxide. This discovery could significantly improve our chances of detecting life on exoplanets in future studies.
Separately, researchers from Cornell University have suggested that looking for purple-hued exoplanets may help scientists find signs of extreme alien life. Purple bacteria, which belong to a phylum called Pseudomonadota and thrive in low-oxygen environments, could be the key to identifying such planets. The researchers propose that these planets might emit a distinctive purple glow in the infrared spectrum.
NASA's primary goals for its exoplanet exploration program include discovering planets around other stars, characterizing their properties, and identifying those that could harbor life. To find exoplanets, NASA uses advanced technology such as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The best place to look for life-bearing planets is in their habitable zones, which are areas around a star where conditions are right for liquid water to exist.
In recent years, the search for extrasolar planets has shifted from discovering thousands of exoplanets using indirect methods to characterizing them through the use of emission spectra from exoplanet atmospheres. This process allows scientists to search for chemical signatures we associate with life, known as biosignatures. However, there is controversy regarding the types of signatures that should be looked for. The recent discoveries made by the international team and Cornell University could help resolve this controversy and bring us one step closer to finding life beyond Earth.
An international team of astronomers and astrobiologists from various universities and institutions have demonstrated how to look for life on TRAPPIST-1e based on Earth’s conditions billions of years ago.
The team crafted a model considering Archean-like conditions and how early life forms would consume certain elements while adding others.
Archean-like biosignatures require the presence of methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor in the atmosphere along with the absence of carbon monoxide.
NASA’s next big challenge is to find potential life-bearing worlds among the stars.
, Exoplanets are planets located outside of our solar system.
, To find exoplanets, we use advanced technology such as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the Spitzer Space Telescope.
, The best place to look for life-bearing planets is in their habitable zones, which are areas around a star where conditions are right for liquid water to exist.
, NASA’s primary goals for its exoplanet exploration program include discovering planets around other stars, characterizing their properties, and identifying those that could harbor life.
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]The best place to look for life-bearing planets is in their habitable zones[
NASA's primary goals for its exoplanet exploration program include discovering planets around other stars
Looking for purple-hued exoplanets may help scientists find signs of extreme alien life, new research suggests.
Purple bacteria belong to a phylum called Pseudomonadota and thrive in low-oxygen environments.
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The author makes no explicit fallacious statements in the article. However, there is an appeal to authority when the authors of the study are mentioned as experts in their field and their research is cited as evidence for the potential existence of purple bacteria on exoplanets.
