The search for extraterrestrial life may be operating within overly narrow parameters, as powerful tools like the James Webb Space Telescope offer new opportunities to detect more exotic biosignature gases from lifeforms thriving in conditions vastly different from those on Earth, according to new research.
MIT Professor of Physics Sara Seager led the study, which reviews the variety of gases and extreme environments that could theoretically host life in forms unlike anything found on Earth. Rather than focusing solely on Earth analogs, the study urges astrobiologists to expand the scope of their search. With over two decades of exoplanet discoveries, scientists now have a broad range of targets in the search for life — if they widen their approach.
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