The evidence from planet K2-18b suggesting it may be teeming with microbial life is tantalising

Astronomers suspect in the atmosphere of the planet two molecules that are biologically produced on Earth. And what does that mean now? What experts say.

Already 10 years ago, in August 2015, astronomers discovered an unusual planet 124 light years away in the constellation of Leo. Named K2-18b, the new world was quickly included in the 'superland' group, that is, rocky planets, like ours, but with a mass up to ten times larger. With a diameter equivalent to 2.6 lands and a mass 8.6 times higher, K2-18b fits perfectly into the category. But not only that, but it also has a well-defined atmosphere…

The evidence from planet K2-18b suggesting it may be teeming with microbial life is tantalising

The finding isn't yet certain, and it only indirectly supports the notion that the planet harbours life, but it is the strongest sign yet that we are not alone in the universe.

An international team of astronomers has detected chemical signs in one of these worlds that may be related to biological activity.

Scientists have been trying for years to find out if humanity is not alone in the universe, a hope that increased when astronomers announced this week that they had detected the most promising signs of life on a planet outside the solar system. An American-British team detected in the atmosphere of the exoplanet K2-18b the traces "most promising until [...] The entry Is There Extraterrestrial Life?, the explanation of Fermi's paradox was first p…

Scientists have detected unique chemical patterns similar to those produced by the Earth’s seaweed and seaweed, which increases the possibility of the presence of a warm ocean, perhaps full of life, on a planet 729 billion miles away. The clues were found in K2-18b, an exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf star twice the size of the Earth and 124 light years away, according to a team of researchers led by the University of Cambridge. On the scale of th…