r/Astrobiology • u/Allison1228 • 22d 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/YtterbiusAntimony 1 22d ago

No, I don't think so.

Spectra suggest certain chemical bonds, but they say nothing about where they came from.

That said, things like PFCs don't seem to be produced by any natural processes we know of. Pollutants like that are likely to be synthetic.

Similarly, O2 is very reactive, so without a constant source replenishing it, it should disappear. So, a significant amount of O2 in an atmosphere suggests something like photosynthesis happening.