Max Planck Institute for Astronomy | 2017 Nov 29
[img3="Artist's impression of TRAPPIST 1d (right) and its host star TRAPPIST 1 (left). New research shows how planets like this could hide traces of life from astronomers's observations. Credit: MPIA"]http://www.mpia.de/4409837/standard_full-1511353202.jpg[/img3][hr][/hr]Simulations show that the search for life on other planets may well be more difficult than previously assumed: On planets like Proxima b or TRAPPIST-1d, unusual flow pattern could hide atmospheric ozone from telescopic observations. Ozone, which is a variety of oxygen, is seen as one of the possible traces allowing for the detection of life on another planet from afar. The simulations have consequences for formulating the optimal strategy for searching for (oxygen-producing) life such as bacteria or plants on exoplanets.
How can we hope to detect life on an exoplanet – planet orbiting a star other than the Sun? The accepted search strategy is as follows: Examine an exoplanet's atmosphere and identify chemical compounds that were produced by living beings, like the massive amount of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere. But now researchers led by Ludmila Carone of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have found that these traces might be hidden better than was previously thought. ...
Traces of Life on Nearest Exoplanets May Be Hidden in Equatorial Trap
Royal Astronomical Society | 2017 Nov 29
Stratosphere Circulation on Tidally Locked ExoEarths - Ludmila Carone et al
- Monthly Notices of the RAS 473(4):4672 (Feb 2018) DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stx2732