Researchers identified that the Earth’s oxygen has varied dramatically over time. The data derived could help us spot alien life. Approximately 2.4 billion years ago the first rise in oxygen occurred known as the ‘great oxidation event.’
One of the oldest questions to mankind is whether there is any external life form in the universe, will get some clues with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is a giant leap in that direction. The objective of the JWST is to study exoplanets (planets existing outside our solar system) and to determine their primary gaseous composition.
The new research in the variation of oxygen on Earth over the geological time scale has helped to gather important clues to look for more, in the right direction.
Scientists are trying to identify and decipher how, when, and why life evolved on various other planets by studying our earth which hosts life. Understanding our own planet’s complex evolutionary history might provide crucial key factors to finding other planets’ potency for supporting a living ecosystem.
