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New York Post
11-05-2025
- Science
- New York Post
Astronomers detect ‘most promising signs yet' of life on other planets with shocking new discovery
Life. But how would we know it? The world of astronomy is abuzz with excitement. Have we discovered the first-ever evidence of off-world life? Advertisement Is the signal extracted from the interstellar noise a telltale of active biology? 'Astronomers have detected the most promising signs yet of a possible biosignature outside the solar system, although they remain cautious,' states a Cambridge University press release. What has them excited is the planet K2-18b. We only know it exists by the shadow it casts when it passes between its star and the Earth. But that shadow, like a stained-glass window, can tell a story. Advertisement 4 'Astronomers have detected the most promising signs yet of a possible biosignature outside the solar system, although they remain cautious,' states a Cambridge University press release. via REUTERS Across the gulf of space, the James Webb Space Telescope has managed to capture its light spectrum and atmospheric gases like methane, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and dimethyl sulphide also cast shadows when light strikes them. The challenge for astronomy is to catch enough of this distant light to dissect reliably and to interpret that data accurately. The Cambridge University astronomers have attempted to do just that. Scientists the world over have since been sciencing their results. Advertisement How was the data collected? What data was collected? How was it analysed? Does it support the conclusion? 'While this discovery is intriguing, most astronomers – including the paper's authors – aren't ready to claim that it means extraterrestrial life exists,' says University of Arizona distinguished professor of astronomy Chris Impey. There simply isn't enough data. Yet. Advertisement 'Searching for life beyond Earth is one of the great, profound pursuits of humankind. But any claim of life out there will require a thorough study by the scientific community as a whole before we have confidence in the results,' adds The Planetary Society's chief scientist, Dr Bruce Betts. In a post-truth world, that confidence is more important than ever. 'Just like the boy that cried wolf, no one wants a series of false claims to further diminish society's trust in scientists,' Johns Hopkins University astrophysicist Kevin Stevenson argues. 'Context is important when it comes to science communication, particularly for a hot-button topic like the search for life beyond Earth, and we need to be responsible stewards in that respect.' 4 We only know K2-18 b exists by the shadow it casts when it passes between its star and the Earth. But that shadow, like a stained-glass window, can tell a story. Cambridge University Brave new worlds 'It is in no one's interest to claim prematurely that we have detected life,' Professor Nikku Madhusudhan, a University of Cambridge astronomer and lead author of the study, told media. But he still called his study a 'revolutionary moment'. Advertisement 'It's the first time humanity has seen potential biosignatures on a habitable planet,' the professor explained. He added that the discovery was 'as big as it gets' for scientists. We don't know much about K2-18b. But we've guessed a lot. Advertisement It was found in 2015 by the Kepler Space Telescope. It has a radius about 2.4 times larger than that of Earth. Its year is just 32.9 days and it orbits within the habitable 'Goldilocks' Zone (warm enough for liquid water) of a cool red dwarf star about 120 light-years away in the direction of the constellation of Leo. University of Cambridge astronomers believe it may have a thin hydrogen atmosphere over an oceanic surface. Thus the term 'Hycean' (hydrogen-ocean) world. But the opposite could also fit the limited known facts: K2-18b could have a thick atmosphere over a magma sea. Advertisement One way to find out is to determine what that atmosphere is made o. That involves extracting a reliable spectrum from a shadow flickering within a pinprick of starlight. The cause of all the excitement is what the Cambridge University researchers believe is the presence of dimethyl sulphide. This molecule is only found on Earth as the by-product of plankton and bacterial life in our oceans. And that makes it a contender for the position of 'biomarker' – a chemical 'smoking gun' to the presence of life on other worlds. 4 The cause of all the excitement is what the Cambridge University researchers believe is the presence of dimethyl sulphide. Cambridge University Advertisement But has dimethyl sulphide really been found on K2-18b? 'Every detector has some noise from the random motion of electrons,' Professor Impey explained. 'The signal should be strong enough to have a low probability of arising by chance from this noise.' The planet was first photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2016. Astrobiologists thought they saw indications of water vapor. Upon revision, this later turned out to be methane. The first look with the more powerful JWST was made by Professor Madhusudhan's team about two years ago. Analyzing a different set of wavelengths than the most recent study, this initially seemed to show the presence of methane and carbon dioxide – and a hint of dimethyl sulphide. But the raw data they drew their conclusions from has since been re-examined by different scientists using different methods. They have not confirmed the presence of CO2 or dimethyl sulphide. The data from the most recent survey was released for general review on April 28. Does this raw data show what the Cambridge University researchers believe it does? To be science, independent scientists must be able to draw the same conclusions using various methods, and the premise has to be proven correct. Otherworldly chemistry 'We didn't know for sure whether the signal we saw last time was due to DMS (dimethyl sulphide), but just the hint of it was exciting enough for us to have another look with JWST using a different instrument,' Professor Madhusudhan explained. 4 To be science, independent scientists must be able to draw the same conclusions using various methods, and the premise has to be proven correct. phonlamaiphoto – It's the second time the Cambridge University team has found the molecule. 'This is an independent line of evidence, using a different instrument than we did before and a different wavelength range of light, where there is no overlap with the previous observations. The signal came through strong and clear.' But K2-18b isn't Earth. Evidence has begun to emerge that dimethyl sulphide can be produced by non-biological means. Its signature spectrum has been spotted in the clouds of dust and gas that drift between stars. It may have been seen on an uninhabitable comet. Laboratory studies hint that it could be broken out of other molecules under UV light. Professor Madhusudhan concedes there could be previously unknown chemical processes at play. He and his team remain confident in the strength of their findings. 'Decades from now, we may look back at this point in time and recognise it was when the living universe came within reach,' Professor Madhusudhan said. 'This could be the tipping point, where suddenly the fundamental question of whether we're alone in the universe is one we're capable of answering.' But, given the rarity of dimethyl sulphide, the Oxford University measurements have raised eyebrows. Especially as they indicate K2-18 b's atmosphere is awash with it in concentrations thousands of times greater than Earth's. Start and end your day informed with our newsletters Morning Report and Evening Update: Your source for today's top stories Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters 'The claim is intriguing, as these gases can be associated with biological activity,' a statement released by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) reads. 'On the other hand, the signal is modest, ambiguous, and potentially explainable as the result of noise or systematic error.' But, like all research, this study is just one step in a winding journey, filled with obstacles and dead-ends. 'This study is not a confirmation of life; not even a hypothesis that life is present on K2-18b, but a demonstration of where our methodological strengths and limitations lie, and what must come next to an unambiguous claim of life beyond Earth,' the SETI statement concludes. In science's famous last words: More research is needed. 'It'll take time to figure all this out,' adds The Planetary Society. Different teams will do their own investigations, collect more data, learn more about how DMS might be produced, and better understand how it might show up in a planet's atmosphere. Only then will we have a chance at the full story.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
City-killer asteroid heading towards Earth caught on film
An asteroid which has a one in 32 chance of hitting the Earth with enough force to destroy a city has been caught on camera. Asteroid 2024 YR4 has a slightly higher than 3% chance of hitting the Earth and has been placed at the top of the danger klist by NASA and the European Space Agency. By April 2025, the object will be so far away that it will become too faint to be detected by Earth-based telescopes, meaning we won't be able to track its progress and its possibility of hitting Earth until 2028. The latest impact probability is available on the automated Sentry page at NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. READ MORE: Warning for British Gas, EDF, OVO, Eon and Octopus customers READ MORE: Woman who claims to be Madeleine McCann says new DNA test results are 'perfect match' If the asteroid entered the atmosphere over a populated region, an airburst of an object on the smaller side of the size range, about 130 - 200 feet (40 - 60 meters) could shatter windows or cause minor structural damage across a city. An asteroid about 300 feet (90 meters) in size, which is much less likely, could cause more severe damage, potentially collapsing residential structures across a city and shattering windows across larger regions. If the asteroid does head for Earth and is of a size that could cause devastation, a kinetic impactor spacecraft like NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission - which collided with the asteroid Dimorphos in 2022 - is one asteroid deflection technique that could be used to address a potentially hazardous asteroid in the future. 'If you put it over Paris or London or New York, you basically wipe out the whole city and some of the environs,' Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, told AFP. Scientists say the current trajectory puts the asteroid over seven potential large cities - including Mumbai. Each asteroid is unique, and deflection would depend on the asteroid's size, physical properties, orbit, and discovery warning time. For 2024 YR4, NASA are still in the information gathering stage. Asteroid 2024 YR4 will arrive on December 22, 2032. Some astronomers have described it as a 'city killer' and say it could detonate with hundreds of times the force of the Hiroshima bomb. It has been compared to the Tunguska strike, which flatted hundreds of square miles of trees when it an asteroid exploded in the atmosphere 100 years ago.
USA Today
21-02-2025
- Science
- USA Today
Odds of 'city killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 fall once again, now to 0.28%, NASA says
Hear this story AI-assisted summary NASA has been monitoring the asteroid and providing updates on its trajectory. While the asteroid is relatively small, it could still cause significant damage if it were to hit Earth. The asteroid is expected to be visible from Earth through April, allowing astronomers to gather more data. The odds of asteroid 2024 YR4 striking Earth have fallen once again, now to 0.28%. NASA's announcement Thursday is far lower than the estimated 3.1% chance that NASA set on Tuesday, a record high for an object the size of YR4 or larger. The asteroid is 130 to 300 feet wide. Overnight observations by the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies dropped the likelihood of impact once again, after already dropping on Wednesday to 1.5% percent. 'NASA's planetary defense teams will continue to monitor the asteroid to improve our predictions of the asteroid's trajectory,' NASA said in a Thursday blog post. NASA didn't update the odds again on Friday. Although good news for Earth, NASA says the new data increases the chances of an asteroid impact with the Moon to 1%. The asteroid will continue to be visible from Earth through April, giving astronomers some time to gather data with ground-based telescopes. While the asteroid won't again be observable from Earth until June 2028, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will be able to study it in March from orbit. What are the odds of 2024 YR4 hitting Earth? The asteroid 2024 YR4 currently has 0.28% odds of hitting Earth. Among the more than 37,000 known large space rocks, it's the only one right now with any chance of hitting Earth anytime soon. The space rock was spotted late last year and reported on Dec. 27, 2024, to the Minor Planet Center, the official authority for observing and reporting new asteroids, comets and other small bodies in the solar system. The object eventually caught the attention of NASA and other astronomers when it rose on the U.S. Space Agency's Sentry Impact Risk Table, which tracks any known asteroids with a non-zero probability of hitting Earth. Asteroid 2024 YR4 rates 3 of 10 on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, a method for astronomers to categorize and rate the threat of near-Earth objects. What would happen if YR4 crashed into Earth? Even though the asteroid is relatively small, it could still be what some are calling a "city killer" because if it were to hit Earth, it could cause significant devastation in a populous area. 'If you put it over Paris or London or New York, you basically wipe out the whole city and some of the environs,' Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, told AFP If it did collide with Earth, an asteroid of that size could cause an explosion in the atmosphere or even create an impact crater, according to the Planetary Society. Both possibilities would likely cause devastating damage on the ground, though not enough for it to be a mass extinction event. The International Asteroid Warning Network put out a list of possible impact locations, which largely includes empty oceans and uninhabited or sparsely populated areas in the eastern Pacific Ocean, northern South America, the Atlantic Ocean, parts of Africa, the Arabian Sea and South Asia. However, some possible impact locations are densely populated areas. Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Chances of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth drop from record high. What's the current impact risk?
The chances of an asteroid colliding with Earth in 2032 went up, then went up some more — and then went back down again. Asteroid 2024 YR4, estimated to be about 130 to 300 feet wide, initially had a 1% probability of hitting Earth, which then increased to 2.3%. On Feb. 18, the chances increased to 3.1%, the highest impact probability NASA has ever recorded for an object of its size or larger. However, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, new data reduced the impact probability to 1.5%. Recent observations have also determined that there is a small, 0.8% chance of the asteroid impacting the moon. "NASA expects the impact probability to continue to evolve as new observations of asteroid 2024 YR4 are made over the coming days and weeks," wrote NASA in a blog post. As previously reported by USA TODAY, the asteroid will continue to be visible from Earth through April, giving astronomers some time to gather data with ground-based telescopes. While the asteroid won't again be observable from Earth until June 2028, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will be able to study it in March from orbit. Asteroid 2024 YR4 currently has a 1.5% probability of hitting Earth. Although the chances of the asteroid colliding with Earth are slim, 2024 YR4 rates a 3 out of 10 on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, a method for astronomers to categorize and rate the threat of near-Earth objects. According to NASA, it is uncommon for an asteroid to be rated a 3, because that can only happen for asteroids larger than 65 feet with an impact probability of 1% or greater, which is considered "quite rare" for an object of this size. The asteroid was first reported in Chile on Jan. 27, 2025 after a close approach with Earth on Dec. 25. Astronomers predict the asteroid could collide with Earth on Dec. 22, 2032. The International Asteroid Warning Network put out a list of possible impact locations should a collision with Earth occur. The predicted locations range from uninhabited or sparsely populated areas to densely populated areas. Possible impact locations extend across the eastern Pacific Ocean, northern South America, the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Arabian Sea, and South Asia. According to the network, potential blast damage could occur as far as 31 miles from the impact site. Despite it's small size, some experts have dubbed 2024 YRF as a "city killer" due it's potential to cause significant devastation in a populous area. 'If you put it over Paris or London or New York, you basically wipe out the whole city and some of the environs,' Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, told AFP. The asteroid may tracked using NASA's small database lookup. Contributing: USA TODAY Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@ or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Asteroid 2024 YR4 impact risk: What are the chances of hitting Earth
Daily Tribune
20-02-2025
- Science
- Daily Tribune
‘City killer' asteroid now has 3.1% chance of hitting Earth: NASA
An asteroid that could level a city now has a 3.1-percent chance of striking Earth in 2032, according to NASA data released Tuesday -- making it the most threatening space rock ever recorded by modern forecasting. Despite the rising odds, experts say there is no need for alarm. The global astronomical community is closely monitoring the situation and the James Webb Space Telescope is set to fix its gaze on the object, known as 2024 YR4, next month. 'I'm not panicking,' Bruce Betts, chief scientist for the nonprofit Planetary Society told AFP. 'Naturally when you see the percentages go up, it doesn't make you feel warm and fuzzy and good,' he added, but explained that as astronomers gather more data, the probability will likely edge up before rapidly dropping to zero.
