New telescope allows us to study the atmospheres of planets orbiting stars other than our Sun in unprecedented detail.
On Earth, phosphine is produced by microorganisms, for example in the intestinal tracts of animals. If no life is present, we wouldn’t expect phosphine to occur in large quantities in Venus-like atmospheres, which are dominated by carbon dioxide. That said, we can’t yet rule out other sources of phosphine on Venus.
However, detecting phosphine or ammonia in the atmosphere of a distant exoplanet is likely to be challenging. Both reach tiny concentrations of only a few parts per billion on Earth. So unless our potential extraterrestrials are much stinkier than Earth’s animals, we probably won’t be spotting them any time soon.Individual gases that are unambiguous biosignatures are few and far between, so we might be better off looking for a winning combination if we want to detect life.
So seeing lots of both methane and carbon dioxide coexisting would suggest that something – maybe bacteria – is constantly producing methane.We can apply the above argument to any combination of gases that shouldn’t happily coexist. Life disrupts the chemical equilibrium of its environment because it uses chemical reactions to generate energy.
, for example – we still have to measure how much of these gases are present to draw meaningful conclusions. This isn’t straightforward as the signals can overlap and need to be carefully disentangled.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
THE CONVERSATION: Why you should train your cat – and how to do itCats need support to adjust to living alongside us. Simple forms of training can be good for their wellbeing.
Read more »
Fleetwood holds his nerve over closing holes to keep NGC crown at Sun CityDefending champion Tommy Fleetwood pounced when it counted as he fought back from illness and a six-shot deficit early in the tournament to win the Nedbank Bank Golf Challenge by one shot on Sunday.
Read more »
The weather's putting the 'sun' in Sunday-funday – weather forecastGood morning Cape {town} Etc family!We're in for a mostly sunny and pleasant day to end off the weekend.Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 21-degrees. Windspeeds of 15 km/hour will be travelling from a WSW direction.
Read more »
At the going down of the sun.CathyBuckle paid respect to those who have fallen in war, and met a 92-year-old wartime pilot who lifted her sombre mood despite inflation in Zimbabwe estimated at 400%. Moneyweb Econony
Read more »
The Potential Economic Consequences of SA Being 'Greylisted'Time is running out for SA to demonstrate that it has sufficient measures to tackle money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. Failing to will mean the country could be “greylisted” in February 2023. Our panelists discuss this:
Read more »
Grand Parade in play as Sun raises a sizeable stakeGaming and leisure giant snatches a 10.56% stake in Grand Parade Investments
Read more »