Scientists have discovered unique chemical patterns similar to that of the Earth Algae and seaweed Raise the possibility of a warm environment, Maybe you are filled with lifeOn the planet 7 trillion mile.
The signs were found on K2-18B, Foreign planet It revolves around a red dwarf star twice the size of the Earth and 124 light years, according to a team of researchers led by Cambridge University. In the scale of the universe, the planet is a neighbor, participates Milky Way galaxy With the ground.
They discovered their pioneering discovery after a repeated analysis of the observations made on K2-18B using Space telescope James Web from NASADetecting the chemical fingerprints that you produce on Earth in the first place microbial life, such as algae, seaweed, or sea plant plankton.
“The most powerful evidence so far is that life may be on a planet outside our solar system,” said Cambridge University. Press statement Thursday.
Explanation of the world of Hessian.
But the team – which it published Ticket In astronomical physical magazine speeches on the same day – they are still cautious about what exactly new results can reveal life outside the solar system.
“No one is to claim prematurely we have discovered life,” said astronomical physicist at Cambridge Niko Madosodhan, who led the study during a press conference on Tuesday.
But he added, “We want to remain open and do more experiences and theoretical calculations” that could enhance the evidence they discovered, known as the name Methyl sulfide (DMS), on the external planets that were discovered in 2015 Kepler NASA mission.
Madhusudhan and his colleagues have embraced their research since 2023, as they discovered carbon-based molecules in the K2-18B atmosphere using the James Web telescope Infrared mid -radiation tool.
This conclusion suggested that the corresponding molecule of DMS, known as the DMDS, can also be present on the external planets-the first hint that K2-18B may be a Hycean world, and this means one with a warm environment with life under an atmosphere rich in hydrogen.
“The only scenario that currently explains all the data obtained so far from JWST, including previous and current notes, is one where K2-18 B is the world of Hycean teeming with life,” said Madosodhan.
He pointed out that at the same time, there is still a 0.3 % chance because their observation was a statistical refuge. He added: “We need to be open and continue to explore other scenarios.”
K2-18B is part of the “Neptuune” category, which includes about 6000 external planets that have been discovered outside the solar system since the 1990s.
Finding evidence of life in the universe was the “Holy Just” universe Foreign planet scienceMadosodhan said.
Jake Taylor, astronomical physics and a superhero at the University of Oxford, has also expressed caution against the results with the addition of it as a “good first step” in the search for biosignature gases, which are found in the planet atmosphere and suggests the existence of life.
He said: “I don’t think this is the discovery of the vital emerging that will revolutionize astronomy,” he said, adding that indirectly DMS and DMDS particles can be produced, for example, in comets.
Taylor added that re -analyzing the data from the Miri tool, which has proven to be difficult between the external planetary community in the past, in addition to independent verification of a different team of scientists, “convinces me that these signals are real.”
Despite the unknown that can only be answered through repeated notes and more theoretical and experimental studies. videoThe finding of signs of life in other places was “one of the most deep moments for me personally as well as an astronomer.”
He added that even the suggestions of “a new chemical process that is not produced by life” can be a huge boom, because “however, we see new chemical operations on a planet that can be valid for housing.”
“This, in my opinion, is a transformative moment to find our place in the universe as a type,” said Madosodhan.
This article was originally published on NBCNEWS.com
