Researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a chemical signature in the atmosphere of a distant exoplanet called K2-18 b. The molecule is called dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and is only produced by living organisms on Earth, reports popularmechanics.com.
This discovery is still labeled as “possible” and will require follow-up data collection to confirm its presence in the atmosphere.
K2-18b is expected to be the kind of world where we would expect to find signs of life on other worlds. Researchers first became interested in K2-18 b after detecting water vapor in the atmosphere.
They classify it as a Hycean world, a type of planet completely covered by a temperate ocean and insulated by a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. It orbits a fairly cool star and is in the habitable zone.
However, the researchers caution that when looking for extraterrestrial life, all other possible explanations must be ruled out before concluding that life is there.
The extended wavelength range and unprecedented sensitivity of JWST enabled robust detection of spectral features with only two transits. One transit observation with Webb yielded comparable accuracy to eight observations with Hubble, carried out over a few years and in a relatively narrow wavelength range.
We’re getting good enough at looking into the atmospheres of exoplanets that we’re getting flags. Many of these flags are probably false, but the observational ability to see flags at all was only recently completely beyond our reach.
The ultimate goal is to identify life on a habitable exoplanet, which would transform our understanding of our place in the universe.
Alien organisms or not, we’re getting good enough at seeing flags in the atmospheres of exoplanets. Many of those flags are likely to be false, but the observational ability to see any flags at all was only recently completely beyond our reach.
“Our ultimate goal is to identify life on a habitable exoplanet, which would change our understanding of our place in the universe,” Madhusudhan said in a press release. “Our findings are a promising step toward a deeper understanding of the Hycean worlds in this quest.”
