HomeSpace & AstronomyLaughing gas (Nitrous oxide) may also be an indicator for alien...

Laughing gas (Nitrous oxide) may also be an indicator for alien life

Scientists typically pay special attention to oxygen and methane when talking about which gases in alien atmospheres may represent biosignatures, but a new study suggests that laughing gas may also be an indicator of alien life.

In exoplanet atmospheres, compounds that may represent the existence of life are called biosignatures, usually gases present in Earth’s atmosphere today, such as oxygen, methane, etc., but few researchers seriously consider nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide commonly known as laughing gas, can be produced by certain microorganisms, just because it is currently not in high concentrations in the earth’s atmosphere.

Therefore, it is not listed in the search for exoplanet atmospheres, but the team of astrobiologist Eddie Schwieterman of the University of California, Riverside said that this does not take into account that the cellular metabolism of many organisms in the earth’s oceans in the past has released nitrous oxide. .

Some microbes continuously convert nitrogen compounds into nitrates, such as in fish tanks that build up, which is why you have to change the water;

Given the right conditions in the ocean, some bacteria can convert these nitrates into nitrous oxide, which then leaks into the atmosphere.

In order to explore the correlation between laughing gas and life characteristics, the team made models of planets orbiting different stars, and determined that the nitrous oxide content on these planets can be detected by observatories such as the Webb Space Telescope,

The nearby star system Trappist-1 is a good experimental site, and there is a good chance of detecting nitrous oxide, which is comparable to carbon dioxide and methane.

K-type stars or M-type stars are not as good at breaking down nitrous oxide as the sun, the researchers said,

Therefore, planets orbiting these two types of stars may have more nitrous oxide gas in their atmospheres than expected.

The Webb Space Telescope will soon send back information about the atmospheres of terrestrial rocky planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system,

If the analysis does find nitrous oxide gas, it may not be possible to rule out a metabolic process that may have come from extraterrestrial microorganisms.

Steven L. Werner
Steven L. Werner
Steven has been writing about technology and science since he graduated from University. He is mostly focused on finding and researching for cutting-edge tech and most interesting innovations.

Follow us on Social Media!

12FansLike
15,848FollowersFollow
13FollowersFollow
676SubscribersSubscribe

Related Articles

Starship launch damaged the pad and exceeded expert expectations

SpaceX launched the Starship rocket for the first time a few days ago. In some respects, it was successful, but it also had to...

The night sky is full of black holes instead of stars

This is a seemingly ordinary starry sky photo (see the first picture), but it is a more special celestial body than luminous stars, that...

Truck-Sized Asteroid passed 3,600 kilometers closer than many satellites

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) stated that an asteroid the size of a truck passed over the southern tip of South America...

NASA captures unusual close glimpse of black hole devouring a star

A rogue star recently eaten by a black hole may help scientists understand more complex black hole feeding.NASA's multiple telescopes recently observed a massive...

Explore More Articles

Starfield How to upgrade Ship Weapons-min

Starfield: How to upgrade Ship Weapons?

0
Within Starfield you can actually purchase upgrade or fully build your own spaceship via modules. The thing is that, a lot of this isn't...
Starfield How to Sell from Ship Inventory main

Starfield: How to Sell from Ship Inventory?

0
There's a bunch of different places you can sell your hard-earned items and gears. The only thing is there's no maps in this game....
Starfield How to Store items in your Ship-min

Starfield: How to Store items in your Ship?

0
Starfield's massive open-world comes with unlimited items to farm and collect. However, it might be little bit annoying to over encumber time to time....

Starfield: How to mine Chlorosilanes?

0
If you already used the workbench, you might have notice a recipe that requires a little resource called Chlorosilanes. And while tracking down elements,...