WALL – The unconfirmed data obtained by the James Webb Space Telescope regarding “signs of life” on the planet called K2-18b, 120 light years away, “shocked” the American Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) team.
The BBC to the news According to experts, the telescope may have detected a molecule called dimethyl sulfide (DMS) on the planet, and this molecule is produced only by living things, at least on Earth.
However, the researchers emphasize that the detection of the planet is “not strong enough” and more data is needed to confirm the existence of the molecule.
Researchers also detected methane gas and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the planet’s atmosphere. The presence of these gases could mean that K2-18b has an ocean.
‘RESULTS ARE NOT FINAL YET’
Prof., who led the research at Cambridge University. Nikku Madhusudhan said his entire team was “shocked” by the data.
“On Earth, DMS is produced only by living things. A large part of it in the Earth’s atmosphere is emitted by phytoplankton in marine environments,” said Prof. Madhusudhan stated that the detection of DMS is not yet definitive and more data is needed to confirm its existence. This data is expected to arrive a year later.
“If confirmed, this is a very important event. But even if we are making such a big claim, I feel a responsibility to get the right results,” says Madhusudhan.
This is the first time astronomers have detected the possibility of DMS on a planet orbiting a distant star.
Since the planet, K2-18b, is 1.1 billion kilometers away from Earth, the amount of light reaching the telescope is very low. What makes the planet interesting is that it is not like the Earth-like planets that have been discovered orbiting distant stars and are called rocky planets that are candidates for life. K2-18b is almost nine times the size of Earth.
Exoplanets, planets orbiting other stars that are between the sizes of Earth and Neptune, are unlike anything else in our solar system. (NEWS CENTER)
2023-09-12 23:10:32
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