Scientists found a potential sign of life on a distant planet—an astronomer explains why many are still skeptical

Did Scientists Detect Life on Another Planet? Experts Weigh in on Bombshell Biosignature Report

Dimethyl sulfide is cool—and a potential biosignature—but scientists are urging caution before we declare a plankton party some 120 light-years away.

Why it’s too early to celebrate signs of alien life on K2-18b

Scientists have found possible signs of life on a distant planet, but it’s too early to know for sure. Here’s what makes K2-18b so interesting.

Why Webb May Never Be Able to Find Evidence of Life on Another World

The exoplanet K2-18b is generating headlines because researchers announced what could be evidence of life on the planet. The JWST detected a pair of atmospheric chemicals that on Earth are produced by living organisms. The astronomers responsible for the results are quick to remind everyone that they have not found life, only chemicals that could indicate the presence of life. The results beg a larger question, though: Can the JWST really ever d…

The evidence for biosignatures on K2-18b is flimsy, at best

Out there in the Universe, every stellar system is like a lottery ticket. Every time a new star forms, there’s a chance that it’s going to form planets, including possibly rocky, Earth-sized planets. There’s a chance that the right conditions will emerge on that world — a mix of the raw chemical elements, a source of energy, and stable, life-friendly conditions — that allow for the creation of molecules that metabolize resources and can self-rep…

Scientists found a potential sign of life on a distant planet—an astronomer explains why many are still skeptical

A team of astronomers announced on April 16, 2025, that in the process of studying a planet around another star, they had found evidence for an unexpected atmospheric gas. On Earth, that gas—called dimethyl sulfide—is mostly produced by living organisms.

Scientists found a potential sign of life on a distant planet – here’s why many are still skeptical

K2-18b is a little over 120 light-years from Earth — on a galactic scale, this world is practically in our backyard.