Scientists detect strongest hints yet of life on a distant planet

Scientists have detected unique chemical patterns similar to those produced by Earth's algae and seaweed — raising the possibility of the presence of a warm ocean, perhaps teeming with life, on a planet 729 trillion miles away.

Scientists have detected unique chemical patterns similar to those produced by Earth's algae and seaweed — raising the possibility of the presence of a warm ocean, perhaps teeming with life, on a planet 729 trillion miles away.

The signs were found on K2-18b, an exoplanet planet orbiting a red dwarf star twice the size of Earth and 124 light-years away, according to a team of researchers led by Cambridge University. In the scale of the universe, the planet is a neighbor, sharing the Milky Way galaxy with Earth.

They made their groundbreaking discovery after conducting a repeated analysis of observations made on K2-18b using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, detecting the chemical fingerprints that on Earth are primarily produced by microbial life, such as algae, seaweed or marine phytoplankton.

The findings are "the strongest evidence yet that life may exist on a planet outside our solar system," Cambridge University said in a press statement Thursday.

Illustration of a hycean world.A. Smith / N. Madhusudhan / University of CambridgeBut the team — which published its study in the Astrophysical Journal Letters on the same day — remains cautious about what exactly the new findings can reveal about life beyond the solar system.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/scientists-strongest-hints-life-distant-planet-rcna201683

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