Comment on Searching for signs of life on exoplanets is tough.

danc4498@lemmy.world ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

• chosensilence@pawb.social ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  my guess: there is an exoplanet, K2-18b, that was discovered to have an abundance of detectable biosignatures in its atmosphere. at the time, there wasn’t much in the way of another explanation that didn’t involve life. however, astronomers recently found a failed star that is filled with biosignature molecules… so… ah lol. now perhaps K2-18b has another explanation after all.

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  • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Would be funny if that failed star was actually an alien megaproject but we think it’s a natural explanation that means a planet teeming with ancient life is assumed to be barren like the rest of them.

    Is there a name for that, when something very interesting is mistaken for something very uninteresting? Not that a failed star full of biosignature molecules sounds uninteresting, do they have any explanation for that?

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  • danc4498@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    So much Astronomy drama!

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  • HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    John Michael Godier will be disappointed

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• crunchy@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Methane in Earth’s atmosphere mostly come from cow farts.

  Methane in other atmospheres, as far as we know, doesn’t come from alien cow farts.

  There’s a bunch of stuff that’s made by life, but it can also be made by not-life.

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  • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Burps primarily as far as the cows are concerned.

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  • Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I believe the alien cow fart theory!

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• GraveyardOrbit@lemmy.zip ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Bio signatures found on mars that have yet to be explained

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• StalinIsMaiWaifu@lemmygrad.ml ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Biosignature- signs that life was present

  Abiotic exponation- any explanation that doesn’t require life

  Exoplanet- planet outside the solar system

  Telescopes pick up light from these planets, we then analyse the light to see what elements/compounds make up their atmosphere. Say there’s a planet which has a noticeable increase in atmospheric carbon, the scientist in the meme is tempted to say it’s evidence of life (Forrest fire, industrialization, respiration), but it could be a geological process (volcanic eruption)

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