Researchers have reported what they believe to be the most compelling signs yet of potential life in a remote solar system.
Utilising the James Webb Space Telescope, the scientists detected in the atmosphere of an exoplanet the chemical signatures of gases akin to those found on Earth.
The two gases in question – dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and dimethyl disulphide (DMDS) – are known to be produced through biological processes.
The DMS and DMDS identified during Webb’s observation of the planet K2-18b are typically generated by living organisms on Earth, primarily by microbial life forms such as marine phytoplankton and algae.
Algae are plant-like entities that flourish in the sunlit upper layers of oceans.
The researchers suggested that their findings indicate the possibility of K2-18b being rich in microbial life.
However, they clarified that they are not claiming the discovery of active living organisms, but rather a potential biosignature – an indicator of biological processes.
They emphasised the need for caution in interpreting the findings, noting that further observations are necessary.
“These are the first hints of an alien world that is possibly inhabited,” stated astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan from the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy.
Mr Madhusudhan, who is the lead author of the study published in the *Astrophysical Journal Letters*, remarked, “This is a transformational moment in the search for life beyond the solar system, where we have demonstrated that it is possible to detect biosignatures in potentially habitable planets with current facilities. We have entered the era of observational astrobiology.”
He also mentioned that there are numerous efforts currently underway to explore signs of life within our own solar system, which includes various claims of environments that may support life on Mars, Venus, and several icy moons.
Describing K2-18b, Mr Madhusudhan said, “The K2-18b is 8.6 times as massive as Earth and has a diameter about 2.6 times as large as our planet. It orbits in the ‘habitable zone’ – a distance where liquid water, a key ingredient for life, can exist on a planetary surface – around a red dwarf star that is smaller and less luminous than the sun.”
(Reuters/NAN)
