In a recent study, scientists using the NASA / European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope detected ozone in the Earth’s atmosphere during a lunar eclipse on January 20–21, 2019. But he did so indirectly, capturing the light that went off after passing through the moon. Earth’s atmosphere.
A NASA statement said that the detection of ozone is important because it is a photochemical byproduct of molecular oxygen, itself a byproduct of life. .
related: Hubble Space Telescope: Pictures, Facts and History
Team members said that this study could serve as a proving ground, enabling researchers to search for signs of life around exoplanets.
“A major goal of NASA is to identify planets that can support life,” Youngblood said. “But how would we know a habitable or uninhabited planet if we saw one? What would they do with the techniques that astronomers have at their disposal to mark the exoplanet’s atmosphere? That’s why the Earth’s Is it important to develop a model of the spectrum? A blueprint for classifying the atmosphere on extrasolar planets. ”
Ozone also helps protect life on Earth, by absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation. Researchers said that for the first time recently, a lunar eclipse was captured by a space telescope capturing ultraviolet wavelengths.
The work was published on 6 August in The Astronomical Journal.
Email Chelsea Gohad at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and Facebook.
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