NASA telescope discovers strongest signs of alien life to date

NASA's powerful James Webb Space Telescope has captured what is now the strongest evidence yet of life existing outside of the solar system.

NASA telescope discovers strongest signs of alien life to date
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TL;DR: Researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope detected molecules dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulphide in exoplanet K2-18b’s atmosphere, which on Earth are produced only by life. While this suggests possible life, confirmation requires more data, as non-biological sources cannot yet be ruled out.

Researchers have discovered new evidence for signs of life existing beyond our solar system thanks to the intense power of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the world's most powerful space telescope.

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The discovery was detailed in a new paper published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters and penned by an international team of researchers led by University of Cambridge astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan. According to the paper, Webb scanned the atmosphere of the exoplanet known as K2-18b with its infrared instruments, and the data it gathered indicate the presence of the molecule dimethyl sulfide (DMS), which, as far as its existence on Earth, is only produced by living organisms.

"This is the strongest evidence yet there is possibly life out there. I can realistically say that we can confirm this signal within one to two years," said lead researcher, Prof Nikku Madhusudhan

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The promising discoveries don't stop there, as another molecule associated with life was discovered, dimethyl disulphide (DMDS), and on Earth these molecules are produced by marine phytoplankton and bacteria. The researchers explained the amount of gas detected by Webb was "thousands of times higher than what we have on Earth," meaning that if the association with life on the planet is correct, and the planet does contain at the very least bacterial or marine phytoplankton, it's absolutely teeming with those forms of life.

"The amount we estimate of this gas in the atmosphere is thousands of times higher than what we have on Earth. So, if the association with life is real, then this planet will be teeming with life," said Madhusudhan

While hopes are certainly high for closing in on answering the biggest question "Are we alone?" the researchers behind the study have admitted there are quite a lot of "ifs" and buts" at this stage, as nothing has been 100% confirmed. More data is needed to confirm if the readings of the molecules are correct, and then follow-up observations of the planet are needed to determine where the molecules are coming from, as it might not even be forms of life producing them.

"On Earth it is produced by microorganisms in the ocean, but even with perfect data we can't say for sure that this is of a biological origin on an alien world because loads of strange things happen in the Universe and we don't know what other geological activity could be happening on this planet that might produce the molecules," said Prof Catherine Heymans of Edinburgh University and Scotland's Astronomer Royal, who is independent of the research

"It is in no one's interest to claim prematurely that we have detected life," Madhusudhan told reporters