SOFIA Makes First Detection of Heavy Oxygen in Earth's Upper Atmosphere
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) made the first-ever measurement of heavy atomic oxygen in Earth's upper atmosphere. Heavy oxygen is so called because it has 10 neutrons, rather than the normal eight of "main" oxygen, the form we breathe. Heavy oxygen is seen as a signature of biological activity, common in the lower atmosphere. Both forms are byproducts of phot