New way of detecting oxygen on exoplanets could help find life - CNN

New way of detecting oxygen on exoplanets could help find life

By Ashley Strickland, CNN

Updated 1601 GMT (0001 HKT) January 6, 2020

An artists's conception shows planet LP 791-18d. The volcanically active planet, which is a similar size to Earth, was discovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
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An artists's conception shows planet LP 791-18d. The volcanically active planet, which is a similar size to Earth, was discovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
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This artist's illustration depicts the rocky exoplanet GJ 486 b, which orbits a red dwarf star located 26 light-years away from Earth. Astronomers have detected hints of water vapor in the system, but they can't be sure if it signifies a planetary atmosphere or if it's part of the star.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
This artist's illustration depicts the rocky exoplanet GJ 486 b, which orbits a red dwarf star located 26 light-years away from Earth. Astronomers have detected hints of water vapor in the system, but they can't be sure if it signifies a planetary atmosphere or if it's part of the star.
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This illustration shows an Earth-size exoplanet called TOI 700 e, discovered orbiting the small, cool M dwarf star TOI 700, which is located 100 light-years away. Its other Earth-size sibling, TOI 700 d, can be seen in the distance.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
This illustration shows an Earth-size exoplanet called TOI 700 e, discovered orbiting the small, cool M dwarf star TOI 700, which is located 100 light-years away. Its other Earth-size sibling, TOI 700 d, can be seen in the distance.
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TOI 700 d is the first potentially habitable Earth-size planet spotted by NASA's planet-hunting TESS mission.
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TOI 700 d is the first potentially habitable Earth-size planet spotted by NASA's planet-hunting TESS mission.
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Artist's impression of the exoplanet WASP-121 b. It belongs to the class of hot Jupiters. Due to its proximity to the central star, the planet's rotation is tidally locked to its orbit around it. As a result, one of WASP-121 b's hemispheres always faces the star, heating it to temperatures of up to 3000 degrees Celsius. The night side is always oriented towards cold space, which is why it is 1500 degrees Celsius cooler there.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
Artist's impression of the exoplanet WASP-121 b. It belongs to the class of hot Jupiters. Due to its proximity to the central star, the planet's rotation is tidally locked to its orbit around it. As a result, one of WASP-121 b's hemispheres always faces the star, heating it to temperatures of up to 3000 degrees Celsius. The night side is always oriented towards cold space, which is why it is 1500 degrees Celsius cooler there.
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This artist's impression shows a close-up view of Proxima d, a planet candidate recently found orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Solar System. The planet is believed to be rocky and to have a mass about a quarter that of Earth. Two other planets known to orbit Proxima Centauri are visible in the image too: Proxima b, a planet with about the same mass as Earth that orbits the star every 11 days and is within the habitable zone, and candidate Proxima c, which is on a longer five-year orbit around the star.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
This artist's impression shows a close-up view of Proxima d, a planet candidate recently found orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Solar System. The planet is believed to be rocky and to have a mass about a quarter that of Earth. Two other planets known to orbit Proxima Centauri are visible in the image too: Proxima b, a planet with about the same mass as Earth that orbits the star every 11 days and is within the habitable zone, and candidate Proxima c, which is on a longer five-year orbit around the star.
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The discovery of a second exomoon candidate hints at the possibility that exomoons may be as common as exoplanets.
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The discovery of a second exomoon candidate hints at the possibility that exomoons may be as common as exoplanets.
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This artist's impression shows the football-shaped planet WASP-103b (left) closely orbiting its host star.
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This artist's impression shows the football-shaped planet WASP-103b (left) closely orbiting its host star.
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This image shows double-star system b Centauri and its giant planet b Centauri b. The star pair is the bright object at top left. The planet is visible as a bright dot in the lower right. The other bright dot (top right) is a background star.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
This image shows double-star system b Centauri and its giant planet b Centauri b. The star pair is the bright object at top left. The planet is visible as a bright dot in the lower right. The other bright dot (top right) is a background star.
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This artist's rendering shows a Jupiter-like planet orbiting a dead white dwarf star 6,500 light-years away from Earth. The planet survived the violent phases of stellar evolution leading to the star's death.
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This artist's rendering shows a Jupiter-like planet orbiting a dead white dwarf star 6,500 light-years away from Earth. The planet survived the violent phases of stellar evolution leading to the star's death.
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This artist's illustration shows the night-side view of the exoplanet WASP-76b, where iron rains down from the sky.
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This artist's illustration shows the night-side view of the exoplanet WASP-76b, where iron rains down from the sky.
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Astronomers have identified a new class of habitable planets, which they call Hycean planets. These are hot, ocean-covered planets with hydrogen-rich atmospheres.
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Astronomers have identified a new class of habitable planets, which they call Hycean planets. These are hot, ocean-covered planets with hydrogen-rich atmospheres.
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This artist's illustration shows L 98-59b, one of the planets in a planetary system 35 light-years away from Earth. This planet has half the mass of Venus.
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This artist's illustration shows L 98-59b, one of the planets in a planetary system 35 light-years away from Earth. This planet has half the mass of Venus.
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In this artist's illustration, two gaseous exoplanets can be seen orbiting the bright sun-like star HD 152843.
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In this artist's illustration, two gaseous exoplanets can be seen orbiting the bright sun-like star HD 152843.
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An artist's rendering of TOI-1231 b, a Neptune-like planet about 90 light years away from Earth.
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An artist's rendering of TOI-1231 b, a Neptune-like planet about 90 light years away from Earth.
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This artist's conception depicts a violent flare erupting on the star Proxima Centauri as seen from the viewpoint of a planet orbiting the star called Proxima Centauri b.
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This artist's conception depicts a violent flare erupting on the star Proxima Centauri as seen from the viewpoint of a planet orbiting the star called Proxima Centauri b.
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After losing its gaseous envelope, the Earth-size core of an exoplanet formed a second atmosphere. It's a toxic blend of hydrogen, methane, and hydrogen cyanide that is likely fueled by volcanic activity occurring beneath a thin crust, leading to its cracked appearance.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
After losing its gaseous envelope, the Earth-size core of an exoplanet formed a second atmosphere. It's a toxic blend of hydrogen, methane, and hydrogen cyanide that is likely fueled by volcanic activity occurring beneath a thin crust, leading to its cracked appearance.
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This illustration shows the metaphorical measuring of the density of each of the seven planets in the nearby TRAPPIST-1 system. New measurements have revealed the most precise densities yet for these planets and they're very similar -- which means they also likely have similar compositions.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
This illustration shows the metaphorical measuring of the density of each of the seven planets in the nearby TRAPPIST-1 system. New measurements have revealed the most precise densities yet for these planets and they're very similar -- which means they also likely have similar compositions.
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This artist's illustration shows the view from the furthest planet in the TOI-178 system.
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This artist's illustration shows the view from the furthest planet in the TOI-178 system.
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This artist's illustration shows TOI-561b, one of the oldest and most metal-poor planetary systems discovered yet in the Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers found a super-Earth and two other planets orbiting the star.
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This artist's illustration shows TOI-561b, one of the oldest and most metal-poor planetary systems discovered yet in the Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers found a super-Earth and two other planets orbiting the star.
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This massive and distant exoplanet, called HD106906 b, has an elongated and angled orbit that causes it to take 15,000 Earth years to complete one lap around its twin stars.
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This massive and distant exoplanet, called HD106906 b, has an elongated and angled orbit that causes it to take 15,000 Earth years to complete one lap around its twin stars.
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This is an artist's impression of a free-floating rogue planet being detected in our Milky Way galaxy using a technique called microlensing. Microlensing occurs when an object in space can warp space-time.
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This is an artist's impression of a free-floating rogue planet being detected in our Milky Way galaxy using a technique called microlensing. Microlensing occurs when an object in space can warp space-time.
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This is an artist's impression of exoplanet WASP-189 b orbiting its host star. The star appears to glow blue because it's more than 2,000 degrees hotter than our sun. The planet, which is slightly larger than Jupiter, has a tilted orbit around the star's poles rather than its equator.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
This is an artist's impression of exoplanet WASP-189 b orbiting its host star. The star appears to glow blue because it's more than 2,000 degrees hotter than our sun. The planet, which is slightly larger than Jupiter, has a tilted orbit around the star's poles rather than its equator.
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For the first time, an exoplanet has been found orbiting a dead star known as a white dwarf. In this artist's illustration, the Jupiter-sized planet WD 1856 b orbits the white dwarf every day and a half.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
For the first time, an exoplanet has been found orbiting a dead star known as a white dwarf. In this artist's illustration, the Jupiter-sized planet WD 1856 b orbits the white dwarf every day and a half.
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This illustration shows a carbon-rich planet with diamond and silica as ts main minerals. Water can convert a carbon-rich planet into one that's made of diamonds. In the interior, the main minerals would be diamond and silica (a layer with crystals in the illustration). The core (dark blue) might be made of an iron-carbon alloy.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
This illustration shows a carbon-rich planet with diamond and silica as ts main minerals. Water can convert a carbon-rich planet into one that's made of diamonds. In the interior, the main minerals would be diamond and silica (a layer with crystals in the illustration). The core (dark blue) might be made of an iron-carbon alloy.
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This image shows a young sun-like star being orbited by two gas giant exoplanets. It was taken by the SPHERE instrument on European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. The star can be seen in the top left corner, and the planets are the two bright dots.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
This image shows a young sun-like star being orbited by two gas giant exoplanets. It was taken by the SPHERE instrument on European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. The star can be seen in the top left corner, and the planets are the two bright dots.
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This artist's impression shows a Neptune-sized planet in the Neptunian Desert. It is extremely rare to find an object of this size and density so close to its star.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
This artist's impression shows a Neptune-sized planet in the Neptunian Desert. It is extremely rare to find an object of this size and density so close to its star.
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This is an artist's impression of the multiplanetary system of newly discovered super-Earths orbiting a nearby red dwarf star called Gliese 887.
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This is an artist's impression of the multiplanetary system of newly discovered super-Earths orbiting a nearby red dwarf star called Gliese 887.
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The newly discovered exoplanet AU Mic b is about the size of Neptune.
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The newly discovered exoplanet AU Mic b is about the size of Neptune.
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This artist's impression shows a view of the surface of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Solar System. Proxima b is a little more massive than the Earth.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
This artist's impression shows a view of the surface of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Solar System. Proxima b is a little more massive than the Earth.
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This is an artist's illustration of an exoplanet's atmosphere with a white dwarf star visible on the horizon. The starlight of a white dwarf filtered through the atmosphere of an exoplanet that's orbiting it could reveal if the planet has biosignatures.
Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
This is an artist's illustration of an exoplanet's atmosphere with a white dwarf star visible on the horizon. The starlight of a white dwarf filtered through the atmosphere of an exoplanet that's orbiting it could reveal if the planet has biosignatures.
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This is an artist's illustration of the Kepler-88 planetary system, where one giant exoplanet and two smaller planets orbit the Kepler-88 star. The system is more than 1,200 light-years away.
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This is an artist's illustration of the Kepler-88 planetary system, where one giant exoplanet and two smaller planets orbit the Kepler-88 star. The system is more than 1,200 light-years away.
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planet LP 791-18 d01 exoplanet GJ 486 bNASA TOI 700 e planet02 expolanets gallery 0105exoplanets 2022 wasp 121b01 proxima d exoplanetkepler 1708b exomoonWASP-103b exoplanet01 b centauri planetary system02 White Dwarf System01 exoplanets WASP 76bexoplanets Hycean01 exoplanets 0804exoplanet planet hunters TESS discoveryexoplanet toi 1231b02 proxima flareexoplanet GJ 1132 01 exoplanets TRAPPIST six exoplanets rendering01 super earth TOI-561Exoplanet HD 106906bmicrolensing free floating planetWASP-189b exoplanetswhite dwarf exoplanet01 carbon exoplanets diamondsRESTRICTED 01 exoplanets galleryexoplanets hot jupiterexoplanets red dwarf Gliese 887RESTRICTED 01 exoplanets gallery01 new exoplanet 0824white dwarf artist renderingKepler-88 exoplanets

(CNN)The search for oxygen on other planets outside of our solar system, called exoplanets, is thought to be an aid in the search for life outside of Earth. Now, astronomers have developed a new method for detecting oxygen on exoplanets, according to a new study published Monday.

The scientists believe their new method could speed up the quest for life by making it easier to tell if individual exoplanets could host life on their surfaces by peeking into their atmospheres.
For example, if an alien species was searching for life outside of their planet, one of the ways they could tell Earth hosted life is because of the presence of biosignatures, such as oxygen. Individual organisms like plants on Earth produce oxygen through photosynthesis.
    The new method will rely on detecting the strong signal created when oxygen molecules collide in the atmospheres of expoplanets. The method will be used by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which will be able to peer into the atmospheres of exoplanets and search for this signal. The telescope will launch in 2021 and take a closer look at intriguing exoplanet targets already identified by previous planet-hunting missions such as NASA's Kepler and TESS.
      This unique signal produced by oxygen molecule collisions could actually help astronomers decide if the planet hosts life or not. Once this determination is made, they could quickly move on in the search.
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      The details of the new method were published in the journal Nature Astronomy and presented at the 235th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Honolulu.
      Potential for life is higher on these Earth-sized planets
      Potential for life is higher on these Earth-sized planets
      "Before our work, oxygen at similar levels as on Earth was thought to be undetectable with Webb," said Thomas Fauchez, lead study author at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "This oxygen signal is known since the early 1980s from Earth's atmospheric studies but has never been studied for exoplanet research."
        The collision of the oxygen molecules is key because they block infrared light from the telescope, creating patterns in the spectrum that help determine the composition of the atmosphere. To create their method, the researchers calculated the amount of light expected to be blocked out by the collisions.
        "Oxygen is one of the most exciting molecules to detect because of its link with life, but we don't know if life is the only cause of oxygen in an atmosphere," said Edward Schwieterman, study co-author and astrobiologist at the University of California, Riverside. "This technique will allow us to find oxygen in planets both living and dead."
        The presence of oxygen alone in an exoplanet atmosphere is no guarantee that life is present as well. Sometimes oxygen acts like a false positive of a biosignature because it can form in other ways.
        Some of the exoplanets discovered in recent years are incredibly close to their host stars. In the 2010s, astronomers found that exoplanets were common around cool, M-dwarf stars which are much dimmer than our sun. This means that exoplanets can be closer to their stars.
        New telescope could look for atmospheres around these exoplanets in a year
        New telescope could look for atmospheres around these exoplanets in a year
        Some of these planets, like those in the TRAPPIST system, were found to be potentially habitable -- at the right distance from the star to be warm and support liquid water on the surface. But M-dwarfs are also active, meaning the stars can be lashed with intense radiation and light -- something Earth doesn't encounter from the sun.
        If liquid water is on the planet's surface, it will heat up and evaporate, creating the presence of water vapor, broken down into hydrogen and oxygen, in the atmosphere.
        Exoplanets, black holes, human ancestors and new dinosaurs: The 2010s were stellar for space and science discoveries
        Exoplanets, black holes, human ancestors and new dinosaurs: The 2010s were stellar for space and science discoveries
        Light hydrogen gas leaves the atmosphere and disperses into space. Oxygen, which is heavier, remains behind, making it appear that the planet has an oxygen atmosphere just right for life. In reality, the thick oxygen atmosphere is too great to have been generated by photosynthesis and instead reveals water loss.
          This method will help astronomers to understand the difference when they look at exoplanet atmospheres.
          "It is important to know whether, and how, much dead planets generate atmospheric oxygen, so that we can better recognize when a planet is alive or not," Schwieterman said.