A TEAM of
NASA funded scientists have discovered dozens of potentially habitable planets capable of sustaining
alien life and atmospheric seasons reminiscent of those on Earth.
The groundbreaking discovery far outside the solar system has UFO hunters across the globe excited.
Researchers at the University of California (UCR), Riverside's Alternative Earths Astrobiology Center, are now developing the tools to detect biosignatures on the distant exoplanets.
The scientists outlined their findings in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters, under the title “Atmospheric Seasonality As An Exoplanet Biosignature”.
They will seek to scour the planets with a new generation of space telescopes that measure the atmospheric compositions of the planets many light years away.
According to lead author Stephanie Olson, atmospherics are one of the most promising fingerprints of life on these alien worlds.
She said: “Atmospheric seasonality is a promising biosignature because it is biologically modulated on Earth and is likely to occur on other inhabited worlds.
“Inferring life based on seasonality wouldn't require a detailed understanding of alien biochemistry because it arises as a biological response to seasonal changes in the environment, rather than as a consequence of a specific biological activity that might be unique to the Earth.”
In the paper, the scientists looked at the cyclical formation and destruction of gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and methane through the seasons.
They similarly outlined and modelled the atmospheric fluctuations of oxygen on potentially habitable planets with a low content of oxygen.
The findings were achieved with the help of funding from the NASA Astrobiology Institute.
Edward Schwieterman, a NASA Postdoctoral Program fellow at UCR, stressed the importance of accurate measurements.
The space boffin said ambiguous data collections from across the galaxy are one of the biggest challenges faced by scientists in the hunt for alien life.
He said: “I’s really important that we accurately model these kinds of scenarios now, so the space and ground-based telescopes of the future can be designed to identify the most promising biosignatures.
“In the case of ozone, we would need telescopes to include ultraviolet capabilities to easily detect it.”
The expert added the presence of both oxygen and methane on these alien worlds is a “promising biosignature” but there are ways they can be produced naturally without the need for life.
However Timothy Lyons, a professor in UCR's Department of Earth Science, underlined the work fundamentally advances the search for life on distant worlds.
He said: “We are particularly excited about the prospect of characterising oxygen fluctuations at the low levels we would expect to find on an early version of Earth.
“Seasonal variations as revealed by ozone would be most readily detectable on a planet like Earth was billions of years ago, when most life was still microscopic and ocean dwelling."
Dr Olson similarly remained positive longer observations of these planets’ atmosphere could yield progress towards “characterising” biosignatures indicative of life outside of Earth.