A research team at NASA have found breathable oxygen outside our galaxy. This brings up the age-old question, are we alone?
The incredible discovery could indicate we’re not alone after all.
A group of astronomers at Shanghai Astronomical Observatory made the discovery using massive radio telescopes. Through this equipment, the researchers were able to spot oxygen in a galaxy called Markarian 231.
The galaxy is only 560-million light-years away! Just think about that for a moment! That’s 3.292e+15 miles away — just so you know!
The sign of breathable oxygen is radiation at a wavelength of 2.52 millimeters, which is what was picked up by the telescopes. Typically these signals are so weak and absorbed by the atmosphere that they are not picked up by the telescope. However, the light from Markarian 231 was stretched, allowing it to pass through our atmosphere.
Researchers wrote about the discovery in the Astrophysical Journal confirming it was the most oxygen ever seen outside our solar system.
Sadly, travelling to Markarian 231 is impossible, but who knows! Maybe in a few hundred years technology will allow us to simply cruise there and check it out! Either way, it’s a pretty awesome discovery!
