When it comes to detecting the presence of liquid water on planets outside the solar system, and thus the conditions needed for life, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) might want to looking for what is missing rather than what is there. Here's what that means.
A team of researchers, including scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Birmingham, suggest that if rocky worlds like Earth outside the solar system have a lower quantity of carbon dioxide in their atmospheres than other planets in the same system, this could be a sign they harbor liquid water. And as we know from the formation of life on our own planet, and the conditions needed to support life here, the presence of liquid water is a key indicator of potential habitability.
Whereas looking for key chemical components that indicate habitability on extra-solar planets, or exoplanets, is only just within reach of current technologies, depleted carbon dioxide is a signature the JWST is now ready to spot.
