Astronomers at the University of Cambridge in the UK said they have found the “most promising signs yet” of life on another planet outside of the solar system.
The scientists analyzed data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and found the presence of two chemicals on exoplanet K2-18b that, on Earth, are only produced by living things: dimethyl sulfide and/or dimethyl disulfide.
These chemicals are primarily produced by microbial organisms like marine phytoplankton, Cambridge said.
But the scientists are still skeptical.
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It’s possible that the chemicals in K2-18b’s atmosphere are the result of an unknown reaction or process, the astronomers said. However, it is still the strongest evidence to date that there is life outside of our solar system.
“The observations have reached the ‘three-sigma’ level of statistical significance – meaning there is a 0.3% probability that they occurred by chance,” Cambridge explained. “To reach the accepted classification for scientific discovery, the observations would have to cross the five-sigma threshold, meaning there would be below a 0.00006% probability they occurred by chance.”
It’s not the first time an interesting discovery has been made about the elusive and captivating K2-18b. Previously, astronomers found methane and carbon dioxide in the planet’s atmosphere, consistent with predictions of a “Hycean” planet – or one that is a habitable ocean-covered world underneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.
The planet is 124 light years away and is 8.6 times as massive and 2.6 times as large as Earth, scientists said. It’s located in the Leo constellation.
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Professor Nikku Madhusudhan from Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, who led the research, said in a statement that while this discovery is exciting, they can’t definitively claim that life has been found on another world.
“Decades from now, we may look back at this point in time and recognize it was when the living universe came within reach,” said Madhusudhan. “This could be the tipping point, where suddenly the fundamental question of whether we’re alone in the universe is one we’re capable of answering.”
