Study: 'Jurassic Worlds' May Hold Key to Detecting Alien Life

Higher Oxygen Levels During Earth's Dinosaur Era Could Make Alien Life Easier to Spot, Say Researchers

A recent study suggests that biosignatures present during Earth’s Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, would be much easier to detect due to the era’s oxygen-rich atmosphere.
Astronomers Lisa Kaltenegger and Rebecca Payne used climate models and geological evidence to simulate how Earth's ancient atmospheres might have looked to astronomers on distant worlds.
The presence of both oxygen and methane in a planet's atmosphere could indicate the existence of life, as these gases don't coexist for long without being replenished, possibly by living beings.
Understanding Earth’s earlier phases could help astronomers interpret the spectra they see from distant worlds, potentially identifying planets that resemble Earth during its Triassic era.
The research suggests that it might be easier to find signs of life, even complex life, on planets that have more oxygen than Earth currently does, similar to Earth's conditions during the dinosaur era.