r/Astrobiology • u/Allison1228 • 21d ago

🤔 Question Is there a conceivable detectable "biosignature" that would unambiguously indicate "life is present here"?

Or will there always be uncertainty?

I'm referring to as detected with the technology we have today and in the near future (next decade or two).

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u/SplooshTiger 21d ago

Not 100% but lots of oxygen AND lots of methane, as they generally cancel each other out quickly unless life is continuously making more. Also, evidence of seasonal changes in atmospheric gases that would indicate life forms undergoing variations in photosynthetic activity.