Alien life has been on the minds of humans for hundreds of years — now, scientists believe they are one step closer to finding it.
In recent years, researchers have focused on studying exoplanets, planets that orbit stars outside the Solar System.
They are extremely far away, though many are believed to be home to vast oceans.
Searching for these oceans is no easy feat, and can take years.
The pay-off is rewarding, however, and a new study proposes a way to identify these exoplanets more efficiently — and potentially find alien life along the way.
Scientists have so far discovered over 5,000 exoplanets, though it has been exceedingly difficult to confirm the presence of water.
While water vapour is often detected, pinpointing the source of that water vapour is an altogether different story.
A new paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy by researchers at the University of Birmingham suggests that "atmospheric CO2 levels hold the key to finding habitable planets and potentially life itself".
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