Historic discovery, strong signs of life found on distant planet beyond our solar system

Scientists have found what they are calling the strongest sign yet of possible life beyond our solar system, after detecting the chemical signature of gases in the atmosphere of an alien planet that on Earth are only produced by living organisms.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists found traces of two gases – dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) – on a planet called K2-18 b.

It is known that on Earth, these gases are generated primarily by living organisms, including algae, suggesting that K2-18 b could be teeming with microbial life.

The researchers have stressed that the findings are not an announcement of the discovery of actual living organisms, but rather an indication of a biological process, they write. sky news, the Telegraph reports.

K2-18 b, located about 124 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo, is 8.6 times larger than Earth and has a diameter about 2.6 times that of our planet.

It orbits in the "habitable zone" - a distance where liquid water, a key ingredient for life, could exist on a planetary surface.

Nikku Madhusudhan of the University of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy, said it was a "transformative moment in the search for life beyond the solar system".

"We have entered the era of observational astrobiology," said Professor Madhusudhan.

It is reported that previous observations from Webb, which launched in 2021 and became operational in 2022, had identified methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of K2-18 b, the first time that carbon-based molecules were detected in the atmosphere of an exoplanet in the habitable zone of a star.

"The only scenario that currently explains all the data obtained so far by the JWST (James Webb Space Telescope), including past and present observations, is one where K2-18 b is a world teeming with life," the professor added.

"The rich data from K2-18 be makes it an enticing world," said Christopher Glein, principal scientist in the Space Sciences Division of the Southwest Research Institute in Texas.

"This latest data is a valuable contribution to our understanding." /Telegraph/