Telescopes are monitoring life (Apostoli Rossella/Getty)
Two scientists who study exoplanets and astrobiology say next-generation telescopes, such as James Webb, will help researchers measure the chemical composition of planets’ atmospheres around other stars.
Professors of astronomy at the University of Arizona, Chris Impey and Daniel Abbey, hope that one or more of these planets may have a chemical signature that indicates life.
In an article published by The Conversation, they explained that life in the solar system is available where water is liquid, such as aquifers on Mars or in the oceans of Jupiter’s moon Europa.
However, the search for life in these places is very difficult, as they are difficult to reach, and detecting life requires sending a probe to obtain the physical samples.
To discover life on a distant planet, astrobiologists will study starlight interacting with the planet’s surface or atmosphere. Discovering the possibility of life on a planet requires a super powerful telescope. Currently, the only telescope capable of such a feat is the new James Webb Space Telescope.
Early data shows that the James Webb Telescope is capable of detecting faint chemical signals in light from exoplanets. In the coming months, the telescope will look at TRAPPIST-1e, a potentially habitable Earth-sized planet just 39 light-years from Earth.
James Webb can search for biometrics, by studying planets as they pass in front of their host stars, and by capturing starlight that flows through the planet’s atmosphere.
It can also detect changes in the levels of carbon dioxide, methane and water vapor in the atmosphere. Certain groups of these gases may predict the existence of life, but “James Webb” is unable to detect the presence of free oxygen, which is the strongest indication of life.
In contrast, there are three huge ground-based telescopes currently under construction that will be able to search for biometrics: the Giant Magellan Telescope, the Thirty Meter Telescope, and the European Large Telescope.
And each is much more powerful than the telescopes on Earth. Although obstructed by Earth’s atmosphere distorting starlight, these telescopes may be able to explore the atmospheres of the nearest worlds in search of oxygen.