The search for alien life has been going on for decades, but this time, researchers think they’re onto something big.
A team of scientists says they’ve found the strongest evidence yet that we might not be alone in the universe.
The discovery comes from a group at the University of Cambridge. Researchers have been studying the atmosphere of a planet called K2-18b.
It’s located 120 light years away from Earth. It orbits a star in what’s known as the “habitable zone”—a spot that could potentially support life. K2-18b is also no small rock: It’s about two and a half times the size of Earth.
So, what exactly did they find?
Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope, the researchers detected gases in the planet’s atmosphere that, here on Earth, are only produced by living organisms.
The two standouts are dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide—chemicals known to be made by algae on Earth.
Even more interesting, the amount of these gases on K2-18b seems to be much higher than what we see on our own planet. That raises a possibility: If there’s water on this planet—and scientists believe there is—then there could be life in those waters.
“This is a revolutionary moment,” Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan, an astronomer and one of the authors of the study, said at a press conference per the New York Times. “It’s the first time humanity has seen potential biosignatures on a habitable planet.”
Still, they’re not jumping to conclusions just yet.
As exciting as the discovery is, the researchers are urging caution.
“It is in no one’s interest to claim prematurely that we have detected life,” Madhusudhan added. For now, the team is calling this a “possible” sign of life. One that warrants more research, more data, and more time.
Here’s what the internet thinks
In the comments across Reddit, users responded with a mix of hope, excitement, and scientific skepticism.
“I always come to these comments sections expecting a succinct comment explaining to me why the article is clickbait and it’s actually nothing but a marker that could be explained a lot of different ways,” one user on r/space wrote. “But this… this is genuinely exciting.”
Over on r/futurology, another added: “Astronomers are urging caution, but if confirmed this would be one of the biggest scientific discoveries of all time, and could fundamentally transform our understanding of life’s prevalence in the universe.”
Meanwhile, a self-identified astronomer on r/worldnews chimed in to clarify expectations. “This is a potential signature of life, but also likely might not be… Dimethyl sulfide—the compound detected in question—can be created naturally not by life, as this paper explains,” they wrote.
They ended their comment with a helpful reminder: “Most scientific discoveries are not immediate slam dunks, but rather happen with intermediate steps.”
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