A powerful new model to detect life on planets outside of our solar system, more accurately than ever before, has been developed by UCL researchers. The new model focuses on methane, the simplest organic molecule, widely acknowledged to be a sign of potential life.
Researchers from UCL and the University of New South Wales have developed a new spectrum for ‘hot’ methane which can be used to detect the molecule at temperatures above that of Earth, up to 1,500K/1220°C — something which was not possible before.
To read more, click here.