- #1
jarroe
- 40
- 0
I don't think it’s possible, but just wanted to confirm since there are some lofty IQ's floating around the forum that would know for certain. More of a fundamental Astrobiology question.
Can we determine life 'from a distance' with a spectrometer or by any other means?
I believe we have the ability to detect organic compounds that would indicate life process' going on, but it would not be definitive for life itself is this correct?
Mass spec, or a culture are the only ways I know of, and both involve a physical sample. Some animals/bacteria do give off a fluorescent light after UV excitation however, and that would be detectable from a distance, so perhaps I've answered my own question in part, but limited to only species that 'glow in the dark', and I'm not sure how far we could detect that?
So, can we detect life from a distance on a planet/moon/planetoid/asteroid with current technology?
Can we determine life 'from a distance' with a spectrometer or by any other means?
I believe we have the ability to detect organic compounds that would indicate life process' going on, but it would not be definitive for life itself is this correct?
Mass spec, or a culture are the only ways I know of, and both involve a physical sample. Some animals/bacteria do give off a fluorescent light after UV excitation however, and that would be detectable from a distance, so perhaps I've answered my own question in part, but limited to only species that 'glow in the dark', and I'm not sure how far we could detect that?
So, can we detect life from a distance on a planet/moon/planetoid/asteroid with current technology?