While scientists know the discovery of alien life would be a game-changing, interstellar event for humanity, the search to date has been unsuccessful. But now, they have a new tool […]
Biosignatures
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
Biosignatures Of The Earth I. Airborne Spectropolarimetric Detection Of Photosynthetic Life
Context. Homochirality is a generic and unique property of life on Earth and is considered a universal and agnostic biosignature. Homochirality induces fractional circular polarization in the incident light that […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Origins Of Life Researchers Develop A New Ecological Biosignature
When scientists hunt for life, they often look for biosignatures, chemicals or phenomena that indicate the existence of present or past life. Yet it isn’t necessarily the case that the […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
Bioverse: A Simulation Framework To Assess The Statistical Power Of Future Biosignature Surveys
Next-generation space observatories will conduct the first systematic surveys of terrestrial exoplanet atmospheres and search for evidence of life beyond Earth. While in-depth observations of the nearest habitable worlds may […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release
Detecting The Elemental And Molecular Signatures Of Life: Laser-based Mass Spectrometry Technologies
The identification of extraterrestrial life is one the most exciting and challenging endeavors in space research. The existence of extinct or extant life can be inferred from biogenic elements, isotopes, […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release
Non-detection Of O2/O3 Informs Frequency Of Earth-like Planets With LUVOIR But Not HabEx
A critical question in the search for extraterrestrial life is whether exoEarths are Earth-like, in that they host life that progressively oxygenates their atmospheres roughly following Earth’s oxygenation history. This […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release
Hubble Uses Earth As Proxy For Identifying Oxygen On Potentially Habitable Exoplanets
Taking advantage of a total lunar eclipse, astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have detected Earth’s own brand of sunscreen – ozone – in our atmosphere. This method simulates how […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release
The Hubble Space Telescope's Near-UV And Optical Transmission Spectrum Of Earth As An Exoplanet
We observed the 2019 January total lunar eclipse with the Hubble Space Telescope’s STIS spectrograph to obtain the first near-UV (1700-3200 Å) observation of Earth as a transiting exoplanet. The […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release
Exoplanets Sciences With Nulling Interferometers And A Single-Mode Fiber-Fed Spectrograph
Understanding the atmospheres of exoplanets is a milestone to decipher their formation history and potential habitability. High-contrast imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanets is the major pathway towards the goal. Directly […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release
Oceanic And Atmospheric Methane Cycling In The cGENIE Earth System Model
The methane cycle is a key component of the Earth system that links planetary climate, biological metabolism, and the global biogeochemical cycles of carbon, oxygen, sulfur, and hydrogen. However, currently […]