Life on K2-18B
posted May 7, 2024 #
I must assume this sort of thing happens somewhat regularly but it seemed like a somewhat new phenomena to me, so I'm sharing. Professor Nikku Madhusudhan is part of a team researching exoplanets and has found some early evidence that planet K2-18B has shown signs of carbon-bearing molecules - including methane and carbon dioxide (and not ammonia). There are also early signs - tho unverified - of dimethyl sulfide, a molecule that Earth scientists have only seen produced by life. This is all a nerdier way of saying the planet could support life and maybe even have life. Also worth noting, the planet is 8x the size of ours!
The interview is certainly worth a watch as Professor Madhusudhan very calmly explains the findings, his excitement for it and his metered approach to making sure it's verified. The interviewer is maybe a little overly excited and that thumbnail is as Click Bait as it gets but, hey, it's YouTube - whatcha gonna do? I also suggest reading this NASA article about the discovery and the Wikipedia on the planet, both very insightful.
Much of this was reported in September of 2023 so there is likely more new information to dig through. Regardless of the outcome, it is fascinating that the James Webb telescope is able to detect these things at all. Truly a wonder.
The interview is certainly worth a watch as Professor Madhusudhan very calmly explains the findings, his excitement for it and his metered approach to making sure it's verified. The interviewer is maybe a little overly excited and that thumbnail is as Click Bait as it gets but, hey, it's YouTube - whatcha gonna do? I also suggest reading this NASA article about the discovery and the Wikipedia on the planet, both very insightful.
Much of this was reported in September of 2023 so there is likely more new information to dig through. Regardless of the outcome, it is fascinating that the James Webb telescope is able to detect these things at all. Truly a wonder.