4 ms·
What about just looking for oxygen in a planet's atmosphere?
by 1024core 1y ago
What about just looking for oxygen in a planet's atmosphere?
- bobmcnamara 1y agoMight be a noise floor from all the interstellar medium oxygen?
- schainks 1y agoThird line of the summary: > Gases found are the same as those produced by algae on Earth AIUI, the sensors used for this discover don't look for just _one_ gas, but as many as possible. So Oxygen is probably included in that list. Life needs more than just oxygen gas in the atmosphere to thrive. The right combination of gasses is a better signal that life could be there versus just the presence of one gas.
- Galatians4_16 1y agoPlenty of abiotic oxygen sources, even on Earth.
- rbanffy 1y agoAnd plenty of life for which Oxygen is a poison.
- __MatrixMan__ 1y agoFor example, the anaerobic bacteria in your gut do not venture out into your other organs because they cannot survive in the presence of so much oxygen. There are of course membranes and such keeping them in check too, but I was surprised to learn that the oxygen gradient played a role.
- dakr 1y agoFree oxygen combines with other things very readily, so you need a steady source to replenish it. Abiotic sources may not be common/strong enough. It's been a long time since I've kept tabs on that research, however.
- rbanffy 1y agoNot all life needs (or wants) oxygen. Plenty of earthlings die quickly when exposed to it.