- Scientists think they have found ‘strongest evidence’ of alien life so far
- Observing chemical compounds may be key to finding life, experts say
- The evidence comes from a planet named K2-18 b
There have been more developments on alien planet life, as scientists think they have found strong evidence of extraterrestrial life on a particular planet. However, astronomers say this planet exists beyond our solar system. Guys, haven’t we done enough space travel for a while? We just had the Blue Origin space trip!
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The James Webb Space Telescope has been closely observing a planet called K2-18 b and has found strong evidence that suggests alien life could exist there. Scientists believe life may be present because they detected two chemical compounds commonly associated with living organisms.
Keep reading to see what this evidence could mean for alien planet life, and how strong it is.
Alien planet life: Does it exist on K2-18 b?
In short, it is a possibility. The compounds associated with the existence of life are dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS). According to The Guardian, this does “not amount to proof of alien biological activity”, but could answer the age-old question of whether we are alone in the universe.
Additionally, scientists did not confirm this is proof of alien life, just that it is the “strongest evidence” they have.
Professor Nikku Madhusudhan, an astrophysicist at the University of Cambridge, said of the observations, “This is the strongest evidence to date for a biological activity beyond the solar system”.
Also, Madhusudhan added that we have to “question ourselves” on the evidence, but this could be the “tipping point” in discovering further life beyond Earth.
Despite observations of the planet, there isn’t concrete evidence on whether it is habitable for life. Although the discovery of the chemical compounds on the planet could point to alien life, nothing is confirmed.
What evidence is there that there could be life on the planet?
In 2019, scientists discovered water vapour on the planet nine times the size of Earth. Later, they found it was methane. Regardless, Madhusudhan’s team still believed the planet could support life.
In fact, during a recent observation, scientists saw light wavelengths vanish when K2-18 b moved in front of its star. These wavelengths matched chemicals called DMS and DMDS.
“If we can detect these molecules on habitable planets, this is the first time we’ve been able to do that as a species … it’s mind-boggling that this is possible,” the professor said.
Sadly, confirming life is difficult because we don’t know how these molecules form on such distant planets. Because we can’t photograph faraway planets, it’s hard to know their environments. For example, like K2-18 b.
No doubt, scientists are trying to learn how these molecules formed or reached K2-18 b. First, they need to understand the planet itself.
Scientists and astrophysicists still argue over Madhusudhan’s findings. They don’t think the evidence is strong enough yet.
As said by the university, “Further observations with JWST could help these results reach the accepted ‘five-sigma’ level for confirmed scientific discovery”.
Who knows? Maybe one day we will have alien friends chilling on other planets!
