New Model to Interpret Exoplanetary Biosignatures

(EPFL, August 18, 2020)

One way to determine whether there is life on another planet is to look for biosignatures in the light that is scattered off its atmosphere using gas spectroscopy. However, while much progress has been made on detecting exoplanetary biosignatures, several important questions regarding the implications of this kind of research remain. Therefore, a team of scientists from EPFL and Tor Vergata University of Rome recently developed a statistical model that can help astronomers interpret the results of this analysis, which, according to EPLF scientist Claudio Grimaldi, includes a novel method to weigh and compare existing assumptions that are used to evaluate how credible life is on a given planet. This is especially relevant in light of the new data that is projected to be collected over the coming years.