Scientists Say They’ve Detected ‘Strongest Evidence Yet’ Of Life Beyond Earth On Exoplanet 7 Trillion Miles Away

Scientists Say They’ve Detected ‘Strongest Evidence Yet’ Of Life Beyond Earth On Exoplanet 7 Trillion Miles Away

A team of researchers led by Cambridge University has made a major discovery in the search for life beyond Earth.

Scientists revealed that they’ve detected unique chemical patterns on an exoplanet 7 trillion miles away. They’ve reportedly found patterns similar to those produced by Earth’s microbial life, such as algae, seaweed, and marine phytoplankton, raising the possibility that the exoplanet, known as K2-18b, could have a warm ocean with living organisms inhabiting it.

 

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K2-18b orbits a red dwarf star and is about twice the size of Earth. While it’s 124 light-years away, scientists say that in cosmic terms, it’s still considered a neighboring planet since both Earth and K2-18b share the Milky Way galaxy.

In a statement, the University emphasized the significance of the research, calling it:

“The strongest evidence yet that life may exist on a planet outside our solar system.”

Still, the team cautioned that more research is needed before drawing any firm conclusions. Cambridge astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan, who led the study,  said:

“We want to remain open and do more experiments and theoretical calculations.”

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