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The artist clarifying the Exoplanet K2-18B lines, a new paper theme for the discovery of potential biomedic gases. | Credit
Adina Vincenin He is a post -PhD fellow in NASA/Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Michigan State University.
Daril G. Celgman It is the national astronomy for astronomical and astronomical physics after a doctorate/Assistant Professor in Physics and Astronomy at Michigan State University.
Scientists condemn people to convey their results accurately and frankly.
During the past week, I, along with most of my astronomical colleagues and the planetary world, received email messages, texts and phone calls from family, friends and the media. Everyone was asking the same question: “Have we really found evidence of life on a planet outside us Solar power system? New York Times Entitled “Astronomers discover a possible signature of life on a remote planet.”
Astronomical Physics Journal recently published an article entitled “New restrictions on DMS and DMDS in the J2-18 B at JWST Miri.“The article reviewed by the peer was discovered-and if that was in a low statistical significance-the presence of diathyl sulfide (DMS) and/or diathyl sulfide (DMDS). DMS and DMDS can be produced both by living living organisms (Like plant plankton) Or from Chemical reactions orbit That is not related to life at all. However, the authors issued a press statement only focusing on Foreigners.
If this news article is a huge fire that spreads out of control, then every astronomer was a firefighter, desperate to reduce the damage that the press statement accompanying the paper. Why? Because the news article was exaggerated.
This story is not new to astronomers. In fact, I played over and over again: fossilized microbes were found on Mars (no), Interloper between the stars was a foreign spacecraft (no), Bacterial life is present in the clouds of Venus (To test), But not limited to our wolves.
As a group, we cannot resist the embodiment of the natural world. Many cultures thought it was there A man in the moonAnd even we learned that his face was a series of drilling. In 1976, and Viking 1 Orbiter took a picture of face on MarsThat turned out to be an insightful illusion Shades on a hill. These claims highlight the exact balance between philosophy and science. In philosophy, we can explore our existence and place in the universe in theory. In science, we need strong evidence.
Since its foundation, NASA has been a constant source of support for development and launching betting designed to see if we were united in universe. We want to understand whether the Earth’s planets revolving around other distant stars can harbor life. In December 2021, NASA launched James Web telescope for space (Jwst), which is Disbum for hundreds of hours To monitor these planets to determine whether or not they have an atmosphere.
We want to understand if the moon’s moon is Europe It has a liquid circumference with water more than all the emotions combined hidden below its ice surface. In October 2024, NASA launched Europa ClipperWhich will determine the thickness of this iceberg and the comprehensive geology of the Galilee Moon.
We want to understand whether it is the moon of Saturn Titan It has the appropriate composition to support the pre -manuscript chemistry. In April 2024, NASA agreed to the dragon tail Size 2028 launch. dragonfly The Titan composition will measure closely and search for chemical signatures that can indicate the existence of life.
All these great bets will help us understand the basic facts about the heavenly bodies. But if we want to answer one of the oldest human questions – Are we alone? – Then we should be able to connect our results. Our ability to trust real scientific discoveries collapses under the weight of those who want to be “the first”, which undermines the efforts of thousands of scientists and engineers who follow the facts with due care and follow the rules of the scientific method that we learned in the elementary school. When people think we found life on other planets when we were not, we lost more than the confidence of the audience – we lost our direction.
Traveling to Europe or Titan, and looking at the far atmosphere External planetsThe subject of fictional science fiction stories is no longer. These are not dreams. This is all our current reality, and even some of our daily functions. When we sit on our offices and analyze the data from these observatories, we are heading towards the answer we want very badly. But excessive stress at best-even frank lying in the worst case-about the results of these betting disturb the public’s confidence and ultimately harm the institutions that work in seeking to achieve scientific discovery.
This comes at a critical time, when the White House suggested Reducing the science budget in NASA by about 50 % And the National Science Corporation (NSF) Budget by up to 50 %. Cutting these programs is not just looking stories-it is from self-destruction. NASA and NSF Science Boxes in all disciplines. Both clients have long led and participated in global efforts to follow scientific breakthroughs, such as JWST.
Related to: Searching for a strange life
Related stories:
– Possible signs of an exotic life on nearby external planets, study reports
– Reports indicate that the Trump administration can reduce the NASA science budget by 50 %
With these proposed budget cuts, we risk the loss of scientists and engineers whose research is the basis for developing the future task.
We risk losing the ability to support and train the next generation of scientists.
We risk missing voices that can direct us through the deeper discoveries.
We risk losing communication with our basic nature to ask questions about our place in the universe and answer them.
the I am looking for life outside the earth It has been an ongoing endeavor since the first philosopher wondered whether we were united in the universe. It depends on our ability to link astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and even philosophy, which initially paved the way for scientific thinking. From all these angles, we will continue to follow an answer to this old question.
However, in our endeavors, we must remember that our mission is greater than the individual research. We should not descend into the use of the infringement results in excessive support for our personal business schedules. We should not forget our collective direction: seeking to achieve facts and our responsibility to share these facts – and only stand out of these facts – with humanity.
