Webb Telescope Will Look for Signs of Life Way Out There

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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/02/science/webb-telescope-exoplanets-atmosphere.html

Source:   Carl Zimmer, The New York Times

Excerpt: The first question astronomers want to answer about exoplanets: Do they have atmospheres friendly to life? ...Identifying an atmosphere in another solar system would be remarkable enough. But there is even a chance — albeit tiny — that one of these atmospheres will offer what is known as a biosignature: a signal of life itself. ...Scientists are still debating what a reliable biosignature would be. Earth’s atmosphere is unique in our solar system in that it contains a lot of oxygen, largely the product of plants and algae. But oxygen can also be produced without life’s help, when water molecules in the air are split. Methane, likewise, can be released by living microbes but also by volcanoes.

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