LONDON, April 17. /TASS/. Scientists led by astronomers at the University of Cambridge have found chemical traces of two rare gases in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b, which may indicate the presence of biological activity, the University’s press service has said.
Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, have detected the chemical fingerprints of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), in the atmosphere of the exoplanet K2-18b.
"On Earth, DMS and DMDS are only produced by life, primarily microbial life such as marine phytoplankton. While an unknown chemical process may be the source of these molecules in K2-18b's atmosphere, the results are the strongest evidence yet that life may exist on a planet outside our solar system," the news release reads.
At the same time, the conclusions drawn by scientists are not yet definitive. They plan to conduct additional observations of the planet K2-18b using the same telescope to verify that the detection of the gases AMF and DMDS was not a measurement error.
The scientists' paper, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, indicates that the measurements obtained thus far suggest a significant concentration of these gases in the atmosphere. These gases are highly reactive, meaning their molecules quickly interact with others. The relatively high concentration may imply a source of influx into the atmosphere, potentially linked to biological processes.
Exoplanet K2-18b is located 124 light-years from Earth and orbits the star K2-18. Its orbit lies within the so-called habitable zone.