Scientists find evidence of life on distant planet, Harvard professor says questions remain
Cambridge University scientists say they have found the
strongest evidence yet
of life on another planet 124 light years away.
The planet is called K2-18b and was spotted with the James Webb Space Telescope. Their research leads them to believe there is a 99.7% chance that the molecules they see could lead to there being life.
Astronomers spotted two molecules in the planet's atmosphere that give them cause for their theory. The molecules are also present here on Earth.
"This molecule is produced in the Earth's atmosphere by microorganisms in the oceans, and there is a claim that perhaps this planet has water oceans, although that is also disputed," said Avi Loeb an astrophysicist at Harvard.
Loeb is on the forefront of research into extraterrestrial life. In 2023, WBZ reported that Loeb and his
team discovered fragments
in a meteor that landed in the ocean. Loeb believes the metallic spherules could be from alien technology. They are still researching.
In the meantime, the findings on K2-18b have him curious, but holding off speculation.
"There is still the lingering question of whether this could be produced by something else, and to be fully confident, physicists require a confidence level of five sigma which is more like 99.99%," explains Loeb.
He says researchers also see these molecules on comets that don't have any life on them.
"It may not be indicative of life, but geological processes, chemical processes on the surface of the planet that produced this molecule without life on it," says Loeb.
If there was life on the planet, it may be hard for us to communicate. Loeb says any signal sent to the planet would not be returned for at least 248 years.
"That's a long time. I'm not that patient to wait 248 years," said Loeb. "It would make much more sense to listen to them. In a good date, when you date someone, the best advice that I have is first listen before you speak. I think we should obviously try to detect any transmission signal and then figure out what to do about it."
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