(© Image: Wikimedia) - 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. Scientists at EPFL and University of Rome Tor Vergata have developed an original model that interprets the results of that analysis. Is there life on a distant planet? One way astronomers are trying to find out is by analyzing the light that is scattered off a planet's atmosphere. Some of that light, which originates from the stars it orbits, has interacted with its atmosphere, and provides important clues to the gases it contains. If gases like oxygen, methane or ozone are detected, that could indicate the presence of living organisms. Such gases are known as biosignatures. A team of scientists from EPFL and Tor Vergata University of Rome has developed a statistical model that can help astronomers interpret the results of the search for these "signs of life".
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