Found hints that on the planet K2-18b could exist life
Additional data is required to confirm.
London. Scientists have discovered hints of life on a distant planet using a space telescope.
A team of scientists from the University of Cambdriga He examined the atmosphere on the planet called K2-18b and discovered signs of molecules that only produce simple organisms on Earth.
Wrote about it British server BBC.
It is the second and so far the most promising discovery when scientists have recorded in the atmosphere of the planet of the chemicals associated with life using the James Webba space telescope of the American Space Agency NASA.
However, the team from the University of Cambridge and independent astronomers emphasize that additional data is needed to confirm these results.
« This is the strongest proof that there may be a life out there. I can realistically say that we can confirm this signal within one to two years, » said the head of the research worker of the astronomical institute of Cambridge University Nikka Madhusudhan.
Have they discovered a hint of life in space? We have to be sure we have it right, the scientist says Read
The planet K2-18b is two and a half times larger than the ground and is 124 light-years away from the Sun.
James Webb’s space telescope is so powerful that it can analyze the chemical composition of the planet’s atmosphere based on the light that passes from the small red sun around which it orbits.
The Cambridge group found that the atmosphere seems to contain a chemical trace of at least one of the two molecules associated with life: a dimethylfide sulfur compound (DMS) and dimetyldisulfide.
On the ground, these gases produce sea phytoplankton and bacteria.
Professor Madhusudhan said he was surprised at how much gas the device recognized during a single observation window. « The amount of gas in the atmosphere we estimate is a thousand times higher than on Earth, » he said.
« So if the connection with living organisms is real, then this planet will teem with life, » said a researcher at the University of Cambridge.
The BBC also said that « if it is confirmed that K2-18b is life, it should basically confirm that life is widespread in the galaxy ».
However, the last discovery hides many unresolved questions at this stage, as Professor Madhusudhan’s team admits.
First, this latest finding does not reach the level that is needed to be considered a scientific discovery. For this, scientists must be sure to be 99,99999 percent that their results are correct and this is not a random figure.
In a scientific jargon, this means the result of five Sigma.
These latest results are only three Sigma, ie 99.7 percent. However, it is much more than the result of 1 Sigma (68 percent) that the team reached 18 months ago and was then adopted with a great skepticism.
Even if the Cambridge team won the result of five Sigma, it would not be convincing evidence of the existence of life on the planet, according to Catherine Heymans of Edinburgh University. « Even with this certainty, the question of what the origin of this gas is, » said BBC Heymans.
It is produced on Earth by microorganisms in the ocean, but even with perfect data we cannot say confidently that it is also in a distant world, she explained. « We do not know what other geological activity could take place on this planet, which could lead to these molecules, » Heymans said.
The Cambridge team also agrees with this view, which, in cooperation with other groups, is investigating whether dimethylsulfide and dimethyldisulfide can be produced in the laboratory with inanimate means.
Research has been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
