DIX Planetary Science Seminar

The Extremely Large Telescopes and the Habitable Worlds Observatory will expand our ability to characterize planetary environments and search for potential signatures of life. Yet detecting a candidate biosignature is only the first step. Establishing whether that signal provides evidence of life requires understanding its biological origin, planetary context, and relationship to other observable properties of the planet. Complementary atmospheric and surface biosignatures offer independent lines of evidence for interpreting potential signs of life. Planetary modeling, informed by the study of extreme environments and laboratory spectroscopy, can connect biochemical properties to remotely observable planetary signals. This talk explores the diversity of signatures produced by surface and atmospheric microorganisms and the planetary conditions that control their detectability. Incorporating this biological context into models of terrestrial exoplanets can inform observing strategies for the ELTs and HWO and strengthen the interpretation of future biosignature detections.