Astronomy
Detecting Biosignatures in the Atmospheres of Rocky Exoplanets
Quick fact
The James Webb Space Telescope can already measure the atmospheric composition of certain rocky exoplanets, and the search for biosignatures relies on detecting gases like oxygen and methane—gases that on Earth are continuously produced by life.
Why this is interesting
Imagine reading a planet's chemical fingerprint from trillions of kilometers away. How do we know if a distant rocky world harbors life?