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Scientists hail ‘strongest evidence’ so far for life beyond our solar system | Astrophysics team say observation of chemical compounds may be ‘tipping point’ in search for extraterrestrial life


Astrophysics team say observation of chemical compounds may be ‘tipping point’ in search for extraterrestrial life

But scientists can estimate their size, density and temperature and probe their chemical makeup by tracking the exoplanet as it passes across the face of its host star and measuring starlight that has been filtered through its atmosphere. There is a question of whether DMS could have been brought to the planet by comets – this would require an intensity of bombardment that seems improbable – or produced in hydrothermal vents, volcanoes or lightning storms through exotic chemical processes. “Life is one of the options, but it’s one among many,” said Dr Nora Hänni, a chemist at the Physics Institute of the University of Berne, whose research revealed that DMS was present on an icy, lifeless comet.

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