Shocking answer! Where there is Oxygen, there is sign of LIFE?

Oxygen is the fount of life. Shockingly, while that may be true for Earth, it may not apply on other planets! There is up to 46 percent in the crust and most probably mantle too has about the same amount, while the atmosphere has around 21 percent. Oxygen is basically the byproduct of the photosynthesis process of plants. So, if scientists find any evidence of the presence of oxygen on any exoplanet, then it indicates life beyond Earth. But the latest study shows that it is not the ideal sign of life!

The latest study titled "Abiotic molecular oxygen production—Ionic pathway from sulfur dioxide," published in Science Advances, has found an abiotic source of oxygen that stems from sulphur dioxide. However, Sulphur is not a rare element in celestial bodies. As volcanoes pump out Sulphur in the atmosphere, terrestrial volcanic exoplanets may have oxygen, which simply doesn’t indicate the possibility of life.

The study further says that high energy radiation can even further ionize the sulphur dioxide molecule, resulting in it rearranging itself. After the ionization, sulphur dioxide has a linear form with both oxygen atoms and makes the oxygen atoms free to drift around in chaotic orbits.

"Upon double ionization, two of the bound electrons in the molecule get ejected and can lead to changes in the angle between the atoms in the molecule. Alternatively, as crucial in the present case, roaming can occur, that is, the atoms switch places, and the molecule takes on a whole new shape," the lead author Wallner of the study said in a press release. But it may not reform into Sulphur Dioxide again. There is a possibility that Sulphur may break up, and positively-charged oxygen molecules remain floating in the atmosphere, which is a vital element of life on Earth.