Astronomers: ‘Strongest indication yet’ of life beyond Earth

: World Tribune; 17 April 2025; Hits: 3

by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News April 17, 2025

A team of astronomers say they have discovered the “strongest indication yet” for extraterrestrial life.

Repeated analyses of the atmosphere of the planet known as K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 light years from Earth, have found a high concentration of a molecule that, on Earth, is produced exclusively by living organisms like marine algae, the scientists said.

“It is in no one’s interest to claim prematurely that we have detected life,” Nikku Madhusudhan, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge whose team has researched K2-18b, said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The team of researchers believes the best explanation for their findings is that K2-18b is covered with a warm ocean, brimming with life.

“This is a revolutionary moment,” he continued. “It’s the first time humanity has seen potential biosignatures on a habitable planet.”

The findings were published Wednesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

While other scientists described the study as an exciting and intriguing starting point for understanding K2-18b, they cautioned against jumping to conclusions.

“It’s not nothing,” said Stephen Schmidt, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University.

“It’s a hint,” he added. “But we cannot conclude it’s habitable yet.”

Beyond our solar system, astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets, some in the “habitable zone” where liquid water might exist.

Astronomers say they’ve found the strongest evidence yet for life beyond our solar system — on exoplanet K2-18b 🪐

• 124 light years away in the habitable zone of its star

• Detected potential biosignatures that are typically produced by life on Earth

• More data is… pic.twitter.com/b6OvGLmgjR

— Latest in space (@latestinspace) April 17, 2025