We could detect oxygen in the atmosphere, which could indicate life, as oxygen will rapidly disappear from the atmosphere through oxidation without life resupplying it. I don't think we have any built or planned telescopes that can detect oxygen 3000 light years away though. This article[1] discusses detecting oxygen in the atmosphere of exoplanets 5 pc away, about 16 light years, using the James Web space telescope that is yet to be launched.
Perhaps, if gasses produced by life could be detected?
But we've detected life in volcanic vents, in arctic ice, in the upper atmosphere, in pretty much every niche on our own planet. Apparently life is pretty adaptable. So we have some clues already.
Detecting (or not-detecting) life on a planet similar to Earth would be groundbreaking. Currently we know of only 1 instance where life arose, and only 1 planet where it's reasonable to expect it to arise.
If we detect life on Mars or Europa it would likely be related to our own, so that's not an independent data point.
But if we detect that there's definitely life on a planet 3000 light years away, or if we exclude that possibility - that's a massive change in our model of universe, understanding of Fermi paradox and our origins.
Quote: "Three thousand light-years from Earth sits Kepler 160.."
To put some thing in perspective. If we get an instant teleport technology to go there tomorrow, it will be a planet that had passed 5 times more time then we know since our humanity almost went extinct 60k years ago.
If we get technology to go at speed of light we'll get there in 300k years, again 5 more times then our modern humanity as we know it.
I don't think he does. He says "If we get technology to go at speed of light", "at speed of light" the speed of light is 1c.
His previous sentence also makes no sense
> To put some thing in perspective. If we get an instant teleport technology to go there tomorrow, it will be a planet that had passed 5 times more time then we know since our humanity almost went extinct 60k years ago.
The light we see from the planet is 3000 years old not 5 times 60k. Space is big, but not as big as OP seems to think. The diameter of the Milky Way is only 150,000–180,000 light-years light years. All the exoplanets we have detected are within the Milky Way.
Can we detect if it has life without going there? Even just an yes/no answer would be immensely important.