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A New Mantra: Follow the Methane — May Advance Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Extrasolar planet HD189733b rises from behind its star. The new work presented here shows this planet has 20 times more methane than previously thought. Image Credit: ESA
The search for life is largely limited to the search for water. We look for exoplanets at the correct distances from their stars for water to flow freely on their surfaces, and even scan radiofrequencies in the “water hole” between the 1,420 MHz emission line of neutral hydrogen and the 1,666 MHz hydroxyl line.
When it comes to extraterrestrial life, our mantra has always been to “follow the water.” But now, it seems, astronomers are turning their eyes away from water and toward methane — the simplest organic molecule, also widely accepted to be a sign of potential life.
Astronomers at the University College London (UCL) and the University of New South Wales have created a powerful new methane-based tool to detect extraterrestrial life, more accurately than ever before.(…)
Read the rest of A New Mantra: Follow the Methane — May Advance Search for Extraterrestrial Life (332 words)
© Shannon Hall for Universe Today, 2014. |
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Post tags: Astrobiology, exoplanets, Extraterrestrial Life, Methane, Transmission Spectrum
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Source: http://www.universetoday.com/112733/a-new-mantra-follow-the-methane-may-advance-search-for-extraterrestrial-life/
