Cork MTU astronomer says promising signs of extra-terrestrial life are very ‘exciting for students'
The James Webb Space Telescope was used to look at the light that goes through the atmosphere and they discovered two molecules that suggested they discovered two molecules that on Earth are associated with life on the exoplanet known as K2-18b.
Astronomers at Cambridge University detected the most promising signs of extra-terrestrial life to date by using data from James Webb Space Telescope, and the Head of Blackrock Castle Observatory at Munster Technological University (MTU) spoke to The Corkman about the revelations.
The James Webb Space Telescope was used to look at the light that goes through the atmosphere on the exoplanet known as K2-18b and they discovered two molecules that are indelibly associated with life on Earth.
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Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Irish Examiner
How Cork got a science centre and space observatory in a 16th-century castle
Last month, the small team at Blackrock Castle Observatory was abuzz. Their phones were hopping with requests from news outlets. For one or two days, the world transferred its gaze from a big orange blob in the White House to a little-known planet 124 light years from our own that might, just might, contain life. K2-18B is an exoplanet (meaning not in our galaxy) two and a half times the size of Earth. It is so far away that no sound, never mind mankind, will reach it in our lifetime. However, the space-borne James Webb telescope has had its many eyes on this exoplanet for some time. Its most recent data has people in the world of astronomy talking in excited, if whispered, tones. 'The James Webb telescope is a fantastic piece of equipment,' says Alan Giltinan, centre manager at the Blackrock Castle Observatory. 'It uses what's called spectroscopy, a technique that breaks white light down in to a type of rainbow and their individual colours and components. 'From there, you're looking for telltale signs, or lines and dips in the curves of those colours when you look at them on a spectrum. So, let's say methane or oxygen — chemical elements you'd find on our planet — have a very specific format, like a fingerprint. So, by comparing the spectra of exoplanets with planets with known spectra, we can try to ascertain what the atmosphere of these planets have.' Blackrock Castle Observatory centre manager, Alan Gilinan setting up their largest telescope. And this is why the science community is getting excited. Analysing the latest data from the Webb telescope, a group at Cambridge University found that the atmosphere of K2-18B seems to contain the chemical signature of two molecules that are associated with life: Dimethyl sulphide and dimethyl disulphide. On Earth, these gases are produced by marine phytoplankton and bacteria. But let's not break out the Romulan ale just yet. 'The reality is that it's very early to know if these are definitive signs,' says Alan. 'We have one telescope, with one set of readings, at this point. We need more data. There is cautious optimism, but we're not there yet.' And even if we were to find life on this faraway planet, it's highly unlikely that life would be capable of uttering words such as 'ouch', as in the movie ET, let alone stand up and go trick-or-treating. 'K2-18B is what is known as a super earth and would be closer to Neptune in size,' says Alan. It is larger than what you might hope for in terms of life, but there's no reason it wouldn't contain microbial life or other life forms. 'Whether it contains upright life forms, like yourself and myself, is another matter altogether. That's a different criteria. But it could, in principle, contain the likes of algae and plankton.' Though it is 'very close in astronomical terms' , K2-18B cannot be seen from Blackrock. That shouldn't deter people from being curious. 'It's worth noting that the data from James Webb is public and so will be available to scientists of all sorts,' says Niall Smith, head of research at Munster Technological University and head of Blackrock Castle Observatory. 'It doesn't all have to be done in Nasa or Cambridge. We can participate in looking for life in the universe by using the data. Irish people and scientists and students can be part of this search for life in the universe; it's freely available to us all.' Niall Smith received a call in 2002 that was the spur for an observatory in Cork. Picture: Darragh Kane It's that quest for knowledge that drove both Niall and Alan to establish an observatory in Cork 20 years ago. The story behind it is one of good luck and rare open-mindedness; you could say it was written in the stars. On a Friday evening in 2002, just as he was about to head home from his office at the then Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), Niall received a call from a Texan named Gary O'Keeffe, who wanted to know where Cork's observatory was. When Niall explained there was none in the area, the pair spent some time on the phone lamenting its absence, before supposing its existence. Two years later, Cork City Council bought the 16th-century Blackrock Castle, built by Queen Elizabeth to protect the city from pirates. In hope, more than expectation, Niall and Alan sent off a two-line letter to the city manager, Joe Gavin, suggesting that the castle would be the perfect site for an observatory. Mr Gavin agreed and, in 2005, the castle was handed over to CIT (now MTU). 'Essentially, we design and build specific types of instruments, equipment, and software to help us analyse the universe in finer detail,' says Alan. 'We have 14 people working here, and at its core is an understanding of the universe we live in. 'That's what drives a lot of people who work here. That thirst for knowledge and wanting to understand the universe we live in and it's great that we were able to establish an observatory in Cork.' Alan Gilinan setting up their largest telescope. Central to the observatory is education and its award-winning exhibitions and workshops are inspirational. Little surprise it is one of the top visitor destinations for schools and young scientists. Since it opened to the public in 2007, it has welcomed 1.3m visitors. But will the observatory be welcoming extraterrestrial visitors anytime soon? 'We now know there are probably trillions of planets in the universe not too far away from us, within our own galaxy,' says Alan. 'Many of them are not going to be habitable, but the numbers that might be seem to be increasing. There is an area called the Goldilocks Zone, where planets are the right size, the right temperature, and have the right pressure. 'These are places that are comparable to Earth. So, the likelihood there isn't life out there seems to be decreasing.' 'There's nothing particularly special on Earth that doesn't happen elsewhere,' says Niall Smith. 'We're not unique in the universe, in terms of molecular interaction or the laws of gravity. 'I've always assumed that because the makeup of molecules on Earth is similar to other planets and our sun is similar to lots of stars, life elsewhere is at least possible. 'So, unless you assume there's something special about us, unrelated to the laws of the universe, it's very hard to imagine that there isn't life out there. 'At the same time, it's really interesting that we haven't seen it yet. It's a puzzle that we haven't seen any evidence of life, but there's no reason to believe that Earth is unique.'
The Irish Sun
25-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
‘Beach resort' planet with '20C sea' could be future astro-tourist hotspot – but you may be DEAD by the time you arrive
THERE are planets beyond our own that could be hiding untouched paradises. Exoplanet LHS 1140 b is just one of them - and could make a great beach resort for Advertisement 4 With a possible ocean temperature of 20C (68F), this planet could host some epic beach days in a few millennia - if humans ever master interstellar travel Credit: B. Gougeon/Université de Montréal 4 Even the closest of exoplanets are too far away to visit with today's technology Credit: Getty First unveiled in 2017, LHS 1140 b is 41 light-years away, and may be humanity's best chance of finding liquid water on a world outside our solar system. There's one pretty big hitch, however - anyone boarding a rocket destined for LHS 1140 b would likely die long before they arrived. If they don't, then they would probably be very old, and not quite up for the water sports that could be on the cards. Even the closest of exoplanets are too far away to visit. Advertisement READ MORE ON SPACE And although this world is relatively close to our own in cosmic terms, it would still take 41 years to get there - while travelling at the speed of light. Of course, we haven't yet mastered light speed travel - let alone anything faster. But with a possible ocean temperature of 20C (68F), this planet could host some epic beach days in a few millennia - if humans ever master interstellar travel. Last year, after falling under the James Webb Space Telescope's keen eye, scientists were able to find out more about this distant world. Advertisement Most read in Science Exclusive They believe it is a potentially rocky world, much larger than Earth. Best-ever sign of ALIEN life found on distant planet as scientists '99.7% sure of astounding biological activity signal' It has a planet mass of 5.6 Earths and a year that lasts just 25 days, according to Nasa. Data gathered by JWST, the $10 billion telescope Nasa launched into space in 2021, strongly supports LHS 1140 b being an ocean world with a tentative nitrogen atmosphere. However, further observations are needed to fully confirm this. Advertisement "Detecting an Earth-like atmosphere on a temperate planet is pushing Webb's capabilities to its limits; it's feasible; we just need lots of observing time,' René Doyon, of the International Research & Exchanges Board (iREx) who studied the data, said in a statement last year. 'The current hint of a nitrogen-rich atmosphere begs for confirmation with more data. 'We need at least one more year of observations to confirm that LHS 1140 b has an atmosphere, and likely two or three more to detect carbon dioxide." 4 JWST data further suggests the exoplanet's mass might be made of between 10 and 20 per cent liquid water Credit: NASA Advertisement LHS 1140 b is a super Earth exoplanet that lies in the so-called 'Goldilocks zone' of its nearest star. This is the area around a star where it's neither too hot nor too cold for a world to host liquid water. When the data was pinged back to Earth - a process that miraculously only takes about five seconds - it was the 'first time [scientists] have ever seen a hint of an atmosphere on a habitable zone rocky or ice-rich exoplanet," according to Ryan MacDonald, a Nasa Sagan Fellow in the University of Michigan's Department of Astronomy, who helped analyse LHS 1140 b's atmosphere. JWST data further suggests the exoplanet's mass might be made of between 10 and 20 per cent liquid water. Advertisement While that could mean the planet looks like one big snowball - the side facing the sun could have a warm liquid ocean, making it look like an eyeball. Charles Cadieux, a doctoral student at the Université de Montréal and lead author of a paper on the discovery, said at the time: "Of all currently known temperate exoplanets, LHS 1140 b could well be our best bet to one day indirectly confirm liquid water on the surface of an alien world beyond our solar system. "This would be a major milestone in the search for potentially habitable exoplanets." 4 And although this world is relatively close to our own in cosmic terms, it would still take 41 years to get there - while travelling at the speed of light Credit: Getty Advertisement All you need to know about planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is How many moons does What colour is How far away is How big is How many moons does Does How many moons does How big is How hot is the
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- RTÉ News
Astronomers spot massive galaxy shaped like the Milky Way
Astronomers have observed a galaxy dating to an earlier epoch in the universe's history that surprisingly is shaped much like the Milky Way - a spiral structure with a straight bar of stars and gas running through its centre - but far more massive, offering new insight into galactic formation. The distant galaxy, called J0107a, was observed as it appeared 11.1 billion years ago, when the universe was about a fifth of its current age. The researchers used data from the Chile-based Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to study the galaxy. They determined that the galaxy's mass, including its stars and gas, was more than 10 times greater than that of the Milky Way, and it was forming stars at an annual rate approximately 300 times greater. J0107a was more compact than the Milky Way, however. "The galaxy is a monster galaxy with a high star formation rate and plenty of gas, much more than present-day galaxies," said astronomer Shuo Huang of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, lead author of the study published this week in the journal Nature. "This discovery," said study co-author Toshiki Saito, an astronomer at Shizuoka University in Japan, "raises the important question: How did such a massive galaxy form in such an early universe?" While a few galaxies that are undergoing star formation at a similar rate to J0107a exist in today's universe, almost all of them are ones that are in the process of a galactic merger or collision. There was no sign of such circumstances involving this galaxy. J0107a and the Milky Way have some commonalities. "They are similarly huge and possess a similar barred structure. However, the Milky Way had plenty of time to form its huge structures, while J0107a didn't," Saito said. In the first few billion years after the Big Bang event 13.8 billion years ago that initiated the universe, galaxies were turbulent entities and were much richer in gas than those existing currently - factors that fostered extreme bursts of star formation. While galaxies with highly organised structures like the barred spiral shape of the Milky Way are common now, that was not the case 11.1 billion years ago. "Compared to other monster galaxies in the distant universe (dating to an earlier cosmic epoch) whose shapes are usually disturbed or irregular, it is unexpected that J0107a looks very similar to present-day spiral galaxies," Huang said. "Theories about the formation of present-day galactic structures may need to be revised," Huang added. The Webb telescope, as it peers across vast distances back to the early universe, has found that galaxies with a spiral shape appeared much earlier than previously known. J0107a is now one of the earliest-known examples of a barred spiral galaxy. About two thirds of spiral galaxies observed in the universe today possess a bar structure. The bar is thought to serve as a form of stellar nursery, bringing gas inward from the galaxy's spiral arms. Some of the gas forms what are called molecular clouds. Gravity causes the contraction of these clouds, with small centres taking shape that heat up and become new stars. The bar that is part of J0107a measures about 50,000 light years in length, Huang said. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). The Webb telescope "has been studying the morphology of early massive galaxies intensely recently. However, their dynamics are still poorly understood," Saito said.
