Scientists find strongest evidence yet of life on an alien planet

[Allan]

This is really exciting. We're not alone

In a potential landmark discovery, scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope have obtained what they call the strongest signs yet of possible life beyond our solar system, detecting in an alien planet's atmosphere the chemical fingerprints of gases that on Earth are produced only by biological processes.

The two gases — dimethyl sulfide, or DMS, and dimethyl disulfide, or DMDS — involved in Webb's observations of the planet named K2-18 b are generated on Earth by living organisms, primarily microbial life such as marine phytoplankton — algae.

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[Fabiusbile]

We're not alone

We can also be "not alone" in the solar system... for example, there may well be life on the same Europe.

Only life does not mean intelligence at all. Bacterial life is not very impressive.

The planet named in the article is a super-earth, more than twice the size of Terra, which is already creating a lot of problems... but more importantly, it is located in a red dwarf system, and these are not the most stable stars, the planet is in the tidal grip of its star, in other words, it is always turned on one side to its star ... all this is very unfavorable for life, especially for complex organics.

So, there's nothing to be happy about yet. We are looking further.

 

[bongsaway]

This is really exciting. We're not alone

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We finally discovered ourselves? I bet lots of stuff flying around in our atmosphere thinks we are the aliens?

 

[Gatsby]

This seems to support my intuition, based on the history of life on Earth, that simple life is very easy, fast, and abundant...practically any world with the right conditions will develop simple life within just a few hundred million years. But that complex life is probably extremely rare. That's what happened on Earth...as soon as the planet cooled and stopped being bombarded with meteors, life formed quickly. But complex life did not appear on Earth until toward the end of the planet's habitable window.

On earth, dimethyl sulfide is an indicator of simple life. If this world is inhabited, it's probably completely saturated with simple life, but perhaps devoid of anything more complex.

And if life can emerge around a red dwarf just 120 light-years away, then it's everywhere in the universe.

 

[MamboDervish]

This is really exciting. We're not alone

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We have recognized the existence of the widespread elements of life for over a decade already. We need to have a renewed focus on orbiters, probes and rovers within in our own solar system to confirm the likely hood of life that may exist light years away from us.

 

[crazyyank]

I do not believe that there is life on K2-18 b until Trump imposes a tariff on it. Trump imposed a tariff on Norfolk Island why not K2-18-b.

 

[Fabiusbile]

then it's everywhere in the universe

And they can all be taught:
a) Democracy
b) Communism.
c) Genocide is also an option.

I believe in humanity, sincerely and with all my heart, that when our descendants can reach planets like our earth, they will be able to use their accumulated experience wisely.

 

[Greenbeard]

Alas.

But Joshua Krissansen-Totton, an astrobiologist at the University of Washington, said he worried that American astrobiologists may not be able to follow up on the latest results on K2-18b.

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to cut NASA’s science budget in half, eliminating future space telescope and other astrobiology projects. If that happens, Dr. Krissansen-Totton said, “the search for life elsewhere would basically stop.”

 

[SNOWFLAKE]

 

[crazyyank]

And they can all be taught:
a) Democracy
b) Communism.
c) Genocide is also an option.

I believe in humanity, sincerely and with all my heart, that when our descendants can reach planets like our earth, they will be able to use their accumulated experience wisely.

The last time we visited a new world, we spread smallpox and wiped out most of the intelligent population. It makes It easier to exploit all the newly vacant land.

 

[dmpi]

This seems to support my intuition, based on the history of life on Earth, that simple life is very easy, fast, and abundant...practically any world with the right conditions will develop simple life within just a few hundred million years. But that complex life is probably extremely rare. That's what happened on Earth...as soon as the planet cooled and stopped being bombarded with meteors, life formed quickly. But complex life did not appear on Earth until toward the end of the planet's habitable window.

On earth, dimethyl sulfide is an indicator of simple life. If this world is inhabited, it's probably completely saturated with simple life, but perhaps devoid of anything more complex.

And if life can emerge around a red dwarf just 120 light-years away, then it's everywhere in the universe.

If we actually knew what those conditions are we would be able to produce life in a test-tube. I should also point out that even the simplest life here on earth is DNA based which is extreme complex, not likely to be put together by chance.

 

[Geoist]

This is really exciting. We're not alone

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I suddenly have a strong urge to start another Stellaris campaign...

 

[Loulit01]

We have possibly found microbes 124 light years away. If true

If we actually knew what those conditions are we would be able to produce life in a test-tube. I should also point out that even the simplest life here on earth is DNA based which is extreme complex, not likely to be put together by chance.

Yeah, not true.

 

[Allan]

We have possibly found microbes 124 light years away. If true

That's a pretty amazing telescope to be able to do that.

 

[Geoist]

We can also be "not alone" in the solar system... for example, there may well be life on the same Europe.

Only life does not mean intelligence at all. Bacterial life is not very impressive.

The planet named in the article is a super-earth, more than twice the size of Terra, which is already creating a lot of problems... but more importantly, it is located in a red dwarf system, and these are not the most stable stars, the planet is in the tidal grip of its star, in other words, it is always turned on one side to its star ... all this is very unfavorable for life, especially for complex organics.

So, there's nothing to be happy about yet. We are looking further.

I don't see the problem. Life would evolve to fit their planet/environment, not ours.

We currently have life on parts of this planet that were once thought to be inhospitable.

Extremophile - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

“Life at the Limits” shows extremophiles aren’t just bacteria

AMNH exhibit includes live axolotls, nautiluses, and mantis shrimp.

arstechnica.com

 

[Gatsby]

If we actually knew what those conditions are we would be able to produce life in a test-tube.

We don't really know what the conditions were, and even if we did it's not a given that we could do it in the lab. When I say that simple life probably happens quickly wherever the conditions allow, we are still probably talking about a wait time of several hundred million years, across the planet's entire surface and ocean depths.

I should also point out that even the simplest life here on earth is DNA based which is extreme complex, not likely to be put together by chance.

The simplest life on Earth was almost certainly nowhere near as complex as DNA. This would have come later, after RNA. The earliest life was probably just some organic molecules that combined in a way that allowed very bad, rudimentary self-replication.

 

[Loulit01]

The fastest spacecraft we have launched to date would take over 75,000 years to reach K12-18 b, where there may be microbes.

We're still alone.

 

[Germinator]

This is really exciting. We're not alone

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Does anyone else know about the "Fermi paradox"? For those who haven't heard of it, the concept highlights the surprising contradiction between the high probability of extraterrestrial civilizations existing and the complete lack of evidence for them.

Fermi Paradox: Where Are the Aliens?

Discover the Fermi Paradox — why, in a vast universe full of stars and planets, haven't we found extraterrestrial life? Explore the theories behind this great mystery.

www.space.com

The "Great Filter" is a potential resolution to this paradox. It suggests that somewhere along the evolutionary path from lifeless matter to an advanced, space-faring civilization, there's a critical and extremely difficult barrier – the "Great Filter" – that almost all life fails to overcome.

Think of it like a race with many hurdles. The fact that we don't see other civilizations suggests that most potential runners stumble and fall at one of these hurdles.

I bring up this thought-provoking question because perhaps short-sighted political leadership (like Trump, for example) is a "Great Filter"



...that wipes out galactic civilizations before they are able to develop transportation capable of interstellar travel.

 

[Germinator]

The fastest spacecraft we have launched to date would take over 75,000 years to reach K12-18 b, where there may be microbes.

We're still alone.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe: The Fastest Spacecraft Ever Just Skimmed the Sun at 430,000 MPH

NASA's Parker Solar Probe just screamed past the Sun for the 23rd time, once again matching its own records for closest approach and fastest human-made object. Zooming through space at 430,000 mph and skimming just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface, the probe is in perfect health and sendi

scitechdaily.com

actually traveling 124 light-years at a speed of 430,000 miles per hour would take approximately 193,300 years

 

[Helix]

I hope that the planet is far enough away to be safe from our Purgatorial level of malignant stupidity. I mean, at least give another space rock a chance to do better.

 

[tshade]

This is really exciting. We're not alone

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It is far too far away to ever have direct impact on Earth

 

[KingLeo]

Interesting but I will take the scientist involved warning to heart:
But Madhusudhan still urged caution.

"First, we need to repeat the observations two to three times to make sure the signal we are seeing is robust and to increase the detection significance" to the level at which the odds of a statistical fluke are below roughly one in a million, Madhusudhan said.

"Second, we need more theoretical and experimental studies to make sure whether or not there is another abiotic mechanism (one not involving biological processes) to make DMS or DMDS in a planetary atmosphere like that of K2-18 b. Even though previous studies have suggested them (as) robust biosignatures even for K2-18 b, we need to remain open and pursue other possibilities," Madhusudhan said.

So the findings represent "a big if" on whether the observations are due to life, and it is in "no one's interest to claim prematurely that we have detected life," Madhusudhan said.

 

[Grand Mal]

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe: The Fastest Spacecraft Ever Just Skimmed the Sun at 430,000 MPH

NASA's Parker Solar Probe just screamed past the Sun for the 23rd time, once again matching its own records for closest approach and fastest human-made object. Zooming through space at 430,000 mph and skimming just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface, the probe is in perfect health and sendi

scitechdaily.com

actually traveling 124 light-years at a speed of 430,000 miles per hour would take approximately 193,300 years

So if we set out today those creatures that were algae 124 years ago might meet us half-way.

 

[Ikari]

I think it's quite possible we might find life in our own solar system. I doubt that through the universe there would be no other life out there. Now some form of intelligent, sentient life like humanity...I have to think that's developed somewhere as well, there's a lot of planets out there it seems unlikely we're the only planet with it. But they've never visited Earth.

 

[Gordy327]

Discovering exolife will be one of the greatest scientific achievements and milestones ever, regardless if it's simple or complex life. Science for the win!