Scientists have discovered potential signs of life on an exoplanet which they believe is covered with water and is currently orbiting a dim red star not too far from our solar system. The exoplanet in question is K2-18b which is some 120 light-years away and as scientists have previously predicted as an ocean planet with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, or Hycean world.&nbsp;

<h2>About the new finding</h2>

The research into K2-18b – the findings for which were accepted into The Astrophysical Journal Letters – reveals the presence of carbon dioxide and methane but it was the presence of a different chemical that drew the scientists'&nbsp;attention.&nbsp;

The exoplanet, as per the latest research, had hints of dimethyl sulphide, which is a signature of biology that the scientists have predicted may be detected on Hycean worlds. But here on Earth, dimethyl sulphide is only produced by life and a large part of it is attributed to marine phytoplankton.

“Our findings underscore the importance of considering diverse habitable environments in the search for life elsewhere,” said Nikku Madhusudhanan, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge and lead author of the paper, in a statement.&nbsp;

He added, “Traditionally, the search for life on exoplanets has focused primarily on smaller rocky planets, but the larger Hycean worlds are significantly more conducive to atmospheric observations.”

The recent findings were obtained after using the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) near-infrared NIRSpec and NIRISS instruments as it orbited between us and its host star, twice.&nbsp;

The researchers were trying to study several aspects, including the difference in the star’s light, the result of having travelled through and being changed by the composition of the exoplanet’s atmosphere.

It was after they analysed the data and dissected the changes that they found evidence of carbon molecules, carbon dioxide, and methane while the spectrum of light revealed hints of dimethyl sulphide.

“Upcoming Webb observations should be able to confirm if dimethyl sulphide is indeed present in the atmosphere of K2-18 b at significant levels,” said Madhusudhan. “Our findings are a promising step towards a deeper understanding of Hycean worlds in this quest,” he added.&nbsp;

<h2>What do we know about K2-18b?</h2>

It is worth noting that the exoplanet is not very different from Earth but it is significantly heftier, with K2-18b being 2.6 times the radius and 8.6 times the mass of Earth. It also orbits its star within the habitable zone, where temperatures could allow liquid water to exist, the researchers said.&nbsp;

K2-18b orbits the red cool dwarf star K2-18 in the habitable zone and orbits it once every 33 days. It is also worth noting that it was Madhusudhan and his colleagues who found that habitability is possible on the K2-18b in 2020.&nbsp;

The year after that they also identified K2-18b as a potential Hycean. The planet was also the subject of significant media coverage in 2019, as two different teams reported the detection of water vapour in its hydrogen-rich atmosphere. 
 
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Scientists have discovered potential signs of life on an exoplanet which they believe is covered with water and is currently orbiting a dim red star not too far from our solar system.

Scientists have discovered potential signs of life on an exoplanet which they believe is covered with water and is currently orbiting a dim red star not too far from our solar system. The exoplanet in question is K2-18b which is some 120 light-years away and as scientists have previously predicted as an ocean planet with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, or Hycean world. About the new finding The research into K2-18b – the findings for which were accepted into The Astrophysical Journal Letters – reveals the presence of carbon dioxide and methane but it was the presence of a different chemical that drew the scientists' attention. The exoplanet, as per the latest research, had hints of dimethyl sulphide, which is a signature of biology that the scientists have predicted may be detected on Hycean worlds. But here on Earth, dimethyl sulphide is only produced by life and a large part of it is attributed to marine phytoplankton. “Our findings underscore the importance of considering diverse habitable environments in the search for life elsewhere,” said Nikku Madhusudhanan, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge and lead author of the paper, in a statement. He added, “Traditionally, the search for life on exoplanets has focused primarily on smaller rocky planets, but the larger Hycean worlds are significantly more conducive to atmospheric observations.” The recent findings were obtained after using the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) near-infrared NIRSpec and NIRISS instruments as it orbited between us and its host star, twice. The researchers were trying to study several aspects, including the difference in the star’s light, the result of having travelled through and being changed by the composition of the exoplanet’s atmosphere. It was after they analysed the data and dissected the changes that they found evidence of carbon molecules, carbon dioxide, and methane while the spectrum of light revealed hints of dimethyl sulphide. “Upcoming Webb observations should be able to confirm if dimethyl sulphide is indeed present in the atmosphere of K2-18 b at significant levels,” said Madhusudhan. “Our findings are a promising step towards a deeper understanding of Hycean worlds in this quest,” he added. What do we know about K2-18b? It is worth noting that the exoplanet is not very different from Earth but it is significantly heftier, with K2-18b being 2.6 times the radius and 8.6 times the mass of Earth. It also orbits its star within the habitable zone, where temperatures could allow liquid water to exist, the researchers said. K2-18b orbits the red cool dwarf star K2-18 in the habitable zone and orbits it once every 33 days. It is also worth noting that it was Madhusudhan and his colleagues who found that habitability is possible on the K2-18b in 2020. The year after that they also identified K2-18b as a potential Hycean. The planet was also the subject of significant media coverage in 2019, as two different teams reported the detection of water vapour in its hydrogen-rich atmosphere. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Scientists discover ‘hints of life’ on this distant alien planet: Study

Scientists for the first time have detected water in the atmosphere of an Earth-like planet orbiting a distant star, evidence that a key ingredient for life exists beyond our solar system. The newest exciting find involves K2-18 b, a planet about 110 light-years from Earth.&nbsp;

In an interview to WION, lead author of a study at University College London (UCL), Angelos Tsiaras, said the&nbsp;K2-18 b&nbsp;planet is the best candidate to be a habitable place out there and added that life can evolve in different ways.&nbsp;

"Like here on earth, we have the extremophiles, these are kind of life that exist in extreme environments something like volcanoes or very deep in the oceans where humans would not be able to live. Hence it could be possible that other forms of life in the universe evolve in a way that they don't need water, who knows that hence we need to find out!", said Tsiaras.

When asked about the next steps and other factors, besides water that&nbsp;confirm the existence of life, Tsiaras said,&nbsp;"The next step will be the James webspace telescope which will be able to give us a much better spectrum of the planet and also help in finding methane which is a sign of life."

Here is the full excerpt&nbsp;of the conversation-

WION: Why is this discovery of water on the exo-planet significant? Does this mean that life exists in other places in the universe?

Tsiaras: No, we cannot answer this question with the current observation. We can say that this planet from what we know right now is the best candidate to be a habitable place out there in the universe. But to find the science of life or a really habitable planet, we will need much better observations. This will come in the next decades. So, unless we have this big telescopes we cannot say more than the existence of water and the existence of an atmosphere around this planet which has very pleasant temperatures similar to the earth.

WION-What more do we know about this exo-planet? Is it a gas giant or does it have a surface to speak of?

Tsiaras: So, we know that the planet has the density that is similar to Mars or the Moon. This means probably that it has a surface. It is definitely not a gas giant. We know that based on the mass and the radius. But given that we cannot really observe the surface and we cannot say much about the surface itself. I can only think of that.

WION- The exo-planet is said to be in the habitable zone but the dwarf star around which it is orbiting is said to be more active. How does this complicate things for the emergence of life?

Tsiaras: These stars are more active than our sun. But until now there have been many studies that are trying to understand whether this is hostile or not. So for example, this star is not that active as per example some has a temperature around 3,5000 kelvin, so it has an activity and it has some more harmful radiation. But we have not detected any flares so very hostile events. In addition, if you think of an atmosphere that it is bigger than ours, so this is probably working as a better against this radiation.

WION-So what is the next step? What else besides water confirms the existence of life?

Tsiaras: The next step will be the James webspace telescope which is three times bigger than Hubble and will be flying in 2021 very soon. It will be able to give us a much better spectrum of the planet and it is a very interesting one. So I believe that we will try to find methane as a next step. As we know that on earth methane is a sign of life. It is produced because life is here. we don't know if life outside universe is working in the same way. Life in a different place could evolve differently and produce different kind of gases. What we are actually looking at is gases that shouldn't be there. Assuming that we put together a mix of certain elements we expect certain molecules to exist in an atmosphere. If we find something that it is not right and it shouldn't be there it is a sign that it could because, of life, this is what we call as biomarkers. 
Our estimate is not very good. We don't know how much water is there. So the estimate is between 0.01 per cent up to 50 per cent. It's a huge race. We don't know. It could be made out of water. For example here on Earth, mostly the atmosphere is made of Nitrogen. Imagine an atmosphere which is mainly made of water, that would be a completely different atmosphere. We will be able to bring down this estimate with smaller and certainty with future telescopes.

WION-How is the water found on this exoplanet different from the water found on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn?

Tsiaras: So the water in the icy moon is an ocean and it is liquid water. Here we are talking about gaseous water. We don't know if there is indeed liquid water. We know that the planet can support liquid water so presumably, we can say but not sure. In the moon, the water is beneath the surface, it's something different. The moon is covered with ice crusts and water lives beneath that.

Scientists for the first time have detected water in the atmosphere of an Earth-like planet orbiting a distant star, evidence that a key ingredient for life exists beyond our solar system.

Scientists for the first time have detected water in the atmosphere of an Earth-like planet orbiting a distant star, evidence that a key ingredient for life exists beyond our solar system. The newest exciting find involves K2-18 b, a planet about 110 light-years from Earth. In an interview to WION, lead author of a study at University College London (UCL), Angelos Tsiaras, said the K2-18 b planet is the best candidate to be a habitable place out there and added that life can evolve in different ways. "Like here on earth, we have the extremophiles, these are kind of life that exist in extreme environments something like volcanoes or very deep in the oceans where humans would not be able to live. Hence it could be possible that other forms of life in the universe evolve in a way that they don't need water, who knows that hence we need to find out!", said Tsiaras. When asked about the next steps and other factors, besides water that confirm the existence of life, Tsiaras said, "The next step will be the James webspace telescope which will be able to give us a much better spectrum of the planet and also help in finding methane which is a sign of life." Here is the full excerpt of the conversation- WION: Why is this discovery of water on the exo-planet significant? Does this mean that life exists in other places in the universe? Tsiaras: No, we cannot answer this question with the current observation. We can say that this planet from what we know right now is the best candidate to be a habitable place out there in the universe. But to find the science of life or a really habitable planet, we will need much better observations. This will come in the next decades. So, unless we have this big telescopes we cannot say more than the existence of water and the existence of an atmosphere around this planet which has very pleasant temperatures similar to the earth. WION-What more do we know about this exo-planet? Is it a gas giant or does it have a surface to speak of? Tsiaras: So, we know that the planet has the density that is similar to Mars or the Moon. This means probably that it has a surface. It is definitely not a gas giant. We know that based on the mass and the radius. But given that we cannot really observe the surface and we cannot say much about the surface itself. I can only think of that. WION- The exo-planet is said to be in the habitable zone but the dwarf star around which it is orbiting is said to be more active. How does this complicate things for the emergence of life? Tsiaras: These stars are more active than our sun. But until now there have been many studies that are trying to understand whether this is hostile or not. So for example, this star is not that active as per example some has a temperature around 3,5000 kelvin, so it has an activity and it has some more harmful radiation. But we have not detected any flares so very hostile events. In addition, if you think of an atmosphere that it is bigger than ours, so this is probably working as a better against this radiation. WION-So what is the next step? What else besides water confirms the existence of life? Tsiaras: The next step will be the James webspace telescope which is three times bigger than Hubble and will be flying in 2021 very soon. It will be able to give us a much better spectrum of the planet and it is a very interesting one. So I believe that we will try to find methane as a next step. As we know that on earth methane is a sign of life. It is produced because life is here. we don't know if life outside universe is working in the same way. Life in a different place could evolve differently and produce different kind of gases. What we are actually looking at is gases that shouldn't be there. Assuming that we put together a mix of certain elements we expect certain molecules to exist in an atmosphere. If we find something that it is not right and it shouldn't be there it is a sign that it could because, of life, this is what we call as biomarkers. Our estimate is not very good. We don't know how much water is there. So the estimate is between 0.01 per cent up to 50 per cent. It's a huge race. We don't know. It could be made out of water. For example here on Earth, mostly the atmosphere is made of Nitrogen. Imagine an atmosphere which is mainly made of water, that would be a completely different atmosphere. We will be able to bring down this estimate with smaller and certainty with future telescopes. WION-How is the water found on this exoplanet different from the water found on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn? Tsiaras: So the water in the icy moon is an ocean and it is liquid water. Here we are talking about gaseous water. We don't know if there is indeed liquid water. We know that the planet can support liquid water so presumably, we can say but not sure. In the moon, the water is beneath the surface, it's something different. The moon is covered with ice crusts and water lives beneath that.

K2-18 b planet is best candidate for life beyond Earth: Astronomer Tsiaras to WION

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Scientists discover ‘hints of life’ on this distant alien planet: Study

K2-18 b planet is best candidate for life beyond Earth: Astronomer Tsiaras to WION