Reading Earth's oldest diaries
Robot detectives on the red planet
Decoding light from distant worlds
YOUR GOAL
Master of Fossilized whispers and cosmic gas
007skaty Decoding Exoplanet Light
We read the starlight filtering through (filtering through!) / To find the chemical barcodes of you (barcodes of you!)
007skaty The spacecraft flew through water geysers, detecting complex organic macromolecules, methane, and molecular hydrogen that indicate a habitable
007skaty Thick, acidic Venusian clouds swirl in golden sunlight with highlighted pockets of phosphine.
007skaty Decode starlight spectra to discover biosignatures of life on distant planets.
Earth's green glow: If aliens looked at Earth through a telescope, our plants' infrared 'red edge' would make our planet look like it is glowing.
The study of the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation. In 2002, David Charbonneau used this technique to detect sodium in the atmosphere of exoplanet HD 209458b.
Which spacecraft flew directly through the icy plumes of Saturn's moon Enceladus in 2015?
Why does the James Webb Space Telescope use infrared light to study exoplanet atmospheres?
In 2020, what controversial gas was detected in the clouds of Venus, sparking debates about aerial life?
What did Cassini find in Enceladus's plumes that strongly indicates active hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor?
Besides Enceladus, which icy moon of Jupiter is a prime target for searching for ocean biosignatures?
What scientific technique analyzes starlight passing through an exoplanet's atmosphere to identify gases?