Further studies are needed to determine whether K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 light-years away, is inhabited, or even habitable.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/science/astronomy-exoplanets-habitable-k218b.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AE8.3zdk.VofCER4yAPa4&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
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If there is life here, there is life EVERYWHERE
I feel like there are big groups of people out there that would do their best to keep information like this hush hush and out of the heads of their followers.
K2-18b. This was notable about a year ago when JWST detected a possible dimethyl sulfide signal, but it wasn’t confirmed. The properties alone of the planet, a “Hycean” super earth probably covered in a world ocean with a thick hydrogen atmosphere, make it super interesting. And now this team is saying they’ve detected not just dimethyl sulfide, but dimethyl disulfide and methane.
We’re at the point where either we’re missing something about geologic chemistry that can allow these chemicals to exist in large quantities in an environment like this (on earth, dimethyl sulfide is *only* produced by life) or this planet is teeming with aquatic life. Really exciting.
So this is obviously exciting news but how exactly are they detecting this molecule? Wavelengths of the light detected from the planet?
Can’t wait to see how this unfolds…it’s just remind us how tiny we are in this massive universe….
120 light years is ironically just a tad too far.
What sort of timeline are we looking at re: ever being able to confirm (or even just say with near certainty) that there’s life on K2-18b? Like is this something that requires decades of further research, or is it possible that we know within the next 5 years?
It’s sad that the current administration wants to cut funding for projects that can find things like this. This is huge
Pleasantly surprised that this isn’t another click bait article. I am also very hopeful with this news. I have always personally believed that the universe is teeming with life and that there is just no way that we can be it.
Exoplanet astronomer here. There are a lot of problems with this study, as well as the one that preceded it. To begin with, the scenario that would even allow for a biosphere (i.e. “hycean”) in K2-18 b’s situation is very, _very_ hard to achieve given what we know about how planets form. It’s not _impossible_, but based on what we know about the planet (like its radius, its mass, and the amounts of certain gases in its atmosphere), there are a whole lot more potential for it to not have an ocean at all. These conditions would be more akin to something we use to sterilize lab equipment than an ocean we could swim in.
Another important thing to note here about the claimed detection is that the way that we normally think about statistical significance is a bit different from how they’re reported for exoplanet atmospheres. For example, a 3-sigma detection would mean to us something like more than 333-to-1 odds against being spurious. This is the standard in sciences like astronomy, and “strong detections” require even steeper odds. In the case of DMS/DMDS here, however, it’s more like 5-to-1 or less against, depending on the specific data or model used. Very few reputable astrophysicists would call this anything more than a “hint” or “weak/no evidence,” so while this may be the “strongest evidence yet,” it is _not_ “strong evidence” in and of itself.
In terms of the data itself, the paper this article is based on shows that they only get significant results if they look for the combination of DMS and DMDS – they only ever find DMS if DMDS isn’t included, and when both are in, each individual molecule is poorly constrained. This isn’t really a standard thing to do, so it’s a pretty big red flag. And considering that they claimed a “hint” of it from their shorter wavelength data, it’s suspicious that they don’t include it here, as it should presumably make the signal stronger.
So how could we ever confirm that life does exist here? Are biosignatures the best we can get, or can we make a definitive yes/no conclusion based on further research?
There is life on Earth. Our type of planet, solar system, and galaxy, are common throughout the universe. It is the chances of there being NO other life in the universe that is slim.
This proves that life on earth is not a cosmic fluke like Carl Sagan said.
This planet is just 120 light years away.
Just think about how many other planets must have signatures of life now that we have found DMS on this exoplanet.
We are definitely not an accident
I thought this was clickbait, but for the first time ever….holy shit, this is exciting!
This sounds like the real deal. At least, about as promising a development as I can ever remember. JWST was designed explicitly for this sort of detection and they’ve now detected multiple promising signs of potentially a planet that is *teeming* with aquatic life.
What would be the next steps if this is confirmed? Obviously 120 light years is out of our reach, but if we knew to focus on just this planet for a while, what else would we be able to learn about its biosphere?
damn I wish I lived in a time where we could actually test this or get pictures/video of the life that would be there. I wonder what these creatures look like. I feel like they’d look like some animal that could exist here as most animals, especially aquatic tend to look out of this world anyway
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There is life in the universe. By the time we see evidence of it, that life will no longer be in existence.
Someone EL5 me in this matter , why is dimethyl sulfide associated possible life ie: produced by life.
Follow up question, how can a telescope identify a chemical compound based on spectral image from millions of miles away with numerous potential particles and space debris or objects between earth and this k2-18b
But where is the paper? It says it was published, and then links to a non existing DOI:
https://dx.doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adc1c8
And now there are dozen of “news” articles poping out, none linking to the paper.
“Eight times as massive as Earth” – What kind of organism could withstand such a gravitation? I suppose humans couldn’t move one leg.
This announcement may go down in history as the really, really big one.
If you didn’t already have the chance to reflect on our place in the universe, then I don’t know how this doesn’t make you do it. The enormity of our universe is awe-inspiring. The vastness of it, and the variety of life that must be out there demands a humble perspective about our place in it. Can’t help but think of Carl Sagan at this moment:
“That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there — on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”
Donald Trump just put a 104% Tariff on the people of K2-18b. They’ve not been paying their fair share for far too long.
Are there any known extraterrestrial geologic or chemical processes that can produce DMS?
Now this is the sort of thing that gets this cynical old man excited. Thank you for posting this!
Is this not the end to the debate that life exists outside this planet? Apart from an alien waving back at us. I mean this is it.
It’s not a fluke, it’s been confirmed twice now that k2-18b has orbited back around.
this is about the 20th time we’ve heard ‘possible life detected’ and then it turns out to be some kind of natural geological/chemical process…this will be another
It’s truly unfortunate that our current president has cancelled all further funding for the space telescopes of the future! Guess cutting NASA funds and redirecting to Musk is the smart move?