●系外行星的大气层里存在氧气到底是生命存在的征兆,还是更为司空见惯的现象?请看娜塔莉·沃尔乔韦尔(Natalie Wolchover)带来的报道。六年前一个下着毛毛雨的早晨,天体生物学家肖恩·多玛加尔-戈德曼(Shawn Domagal-Goldman)窝在西雅图的一家咖啡店里,茫然地盯着笔记本电脑屏幕,呆若木鸡。他一直在运行一次行星演化的仿真模拟,虚拟行星的大气层中的氧气突然开始积聚,氧气浓度不断上升,从0上升到5%,接着上升到10%。“出了什么问题吗?”他的妻子问道。“是啊。”对于寻找外星生命这件事来说,氧气 ● Is there a sign of life or is it more common to see the presence of oxygen in the extrasolar planet’s atmosphere? See Natalie Wolchover’s report. A drizzly morning six years ago, the astroblast Shawn Domagal-Goldman fumbled at a coffee shop in Seattle staring blankly at the laptop screen. He has been running a simulation of the evolution of planets. Suddenly the oxygen in the atmosphere of the virtual planet begins to accumulate. The oxygen concentration is constantly rising, rising from 0 to 5% and then to 10%. “What’s wrong? ” His wife asked. “Yeah. ” Oxygen for finding an extraterrestrial life