Life on a Distant Plan

Is there life on another planet? For decades, scientists and astronomers have been trying to find evidence of life on other planets. Now, space experts have found the strongest evidence of life on a faraway exoplanet named K2-18b, which is about 124 light years away (744 trillion miles).

Scientists at the University of Cambridge used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most powerful space telescope, to detect gases and chemicals in the atmosphere of . Some of the chemicals include dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), which are only produced by living organisms. This suggests there may be is a possible life on K2-18b, though scientists say they need more evidence to prove definite life out there.

", meaning it is primarily covere in ocean and a hydrogen-rich atmosphere," says Nikku Madhusudhan, professor of astrophysics and exoplanetary science. This exoplanet is located within its star's habitable zone, suggesting the planet may be just at the right temperature and distance from the star to host life.

The team at the University of Cambridge also detected carbon dioxide and methane using Webb’s Near-Infrared Imager instrument. “This is an independent line of evidence, using a different instrument than we did before and a different wavelength range of light, where there is no overlap with the previous observations,” Madhusudhan says. “The signal came through strong and clear.”

Although the team has collected some data, they acknowledge they need much more time and evidence to strongly prove there is life on this exoplanet, K2-18b. For example, they need to prove chemicals DMS and DMDS can only be produced by living organisms, not some unknown chemical process. This breakthrough is very exciting for space experts, but it will take years until scientists can finally be sure there is life on a distant planet.