2023-09-16 07:00:00
The exoplanet K2-18 b has many parameters favorable to the development of life, including the presence of a vast ocean on its surface Tristan Bergen 16/09/2023 09:00 6 min
NASA announced in a press release published this Monday, September 11 that a molecule, which on Earth is not produced only by living beings could have been detected on the exoplanet K2-18 b. A potentially major discovery in the search for life outside Earth.
A planet potentially harboring life?
The exoplanet K2-18 b is located approximately 124 light years of Earth in the constellation Leo. This terrestrial planet is approximately 8 times wider than Earth and is located in the habitable zone of its staran area which offers theoretically more favorable conditions for the development of life.
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This distant planet is, according to the scientists in charge of its study, an exoplanet. Hycean “, which means a telluric planet whose atmosphere is rich in hydrogen and whose the surface is covered with liquid water. The planet has also been confirmed to contain carbon moleculesnotably methane and carbon dioxide in fairly large quantities, which, with the absence of ammonia, supports the hypothesis of an ocean of water on its surface according to scientists.
By filtering the wavelengths of light from its star passing through K2-18 b’s atmosphere, the James Webb telescope would also have detected the presence of a particular molecule, dimethyl sulfide (or DMS). This molecule is particularly interesting because it could be a marker of the presence of life on this planet.
The Webb telescope has detected carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18 b, a potentially habitable world over 8 times bigger than Earth. Webbs data suggests the planet might be covered in ocean, with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere: pic.twitter.com/yoXF3flsUl
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) September 11, 2023
In fact, it is not produced only by living organisms on earth. The majority of DMS present in our atmosphere comes from phytoplankton, microscopic organisms present in the oceans. By combining the possible detection of dimethyl sulfide and other carbonaceous molecules and the fact that this planet seems to have a vast ocean on its surface, it would therefore be possible that the DMS was produced by micro-organisms present on this planet in the same way as on the surface of the Earth!
Further research remains essential to confirm this hypothesis.
However, the space agency clarified that the hypothesis of the presence of DMS in the atmosphere of this exoplanet was “ less solid » than other results collected so far and would require other more in-depth analyzes in the coming months. Indeed, the results obtained in the detection of the composition of the atmosphere of K2-18 b are the result of only two observations of the planet by the James Webb telescope and many analyzes are still in progress.
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The James Webb telescope indeed has a much higher sensitivity than instruments used in the past, making detection of the composition of exoplanets easier. For comparison, an observation of the planet K2-18 b via it provided results with a precision comparable to 8 observations carried out with the Hubble telescope over several years.
These more in-depth analyzes will therefore soon make it possible to confirm or deny the presence of DMS on K2-18 b in greater or lesser quantities, which would allow this exoplanet to become one of the most notable candidates for the presence of life outside the Earth’s surface. Indeed, it brings together many conditions potentially favorable to its development such as the fact that it is located in the habitable zone of its star and that it is probably a Hycean type planet, a very promising environment in the search for extraterrestrial life for many scientists.
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It will therefore be necessary to wait a little longer to obtain more convincing results concerning the presence of DMS and therefore the potential presence of a life marker on K2-18 b. In the meantime, the quest for extraterrestrial life continues and many other exoplanets are studied throughout the year, in the hope of one day answering the famous question: “Are we alone in the universe?” “.
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