Why this exoplanet is an exciting space exploration Why this exoplanet is an exciting space exploration

This news is exciting for astronomy fans around the world: Super-Earth K2-18 b is said to be mostly covered in oceans of water and have a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. In addition, researchers from the University of Cambridge have now found evidence that life could exist.

Like that? The astrophysicists led by Nikku Madhusudhan examined the atmosphere of K2-18 b using the spectral instruments of the James Webb telescope and found methane and carbon dioxide. At the same time, there is a shortage of ammonia, the researchers write in the scientific journal ‘The Astrophysical Journal Letters’. This combination of chemical compounds supports the theory that K2-18 b is a planet with large oceans.

DMS is produced by organisms

There is also evidence of dimethyl sulfide (DMS). This sulfur-containing organic compound is only produced on Earth by organisms during bacterial metabolism. The existence of DMS has not yet been definitively confirmed, but astrophysicists are certainly electrified. If there were actually DMS on K2-18 b, there would also be a chance of alien life. And that would be a sensation.

K2-18 b orbits its sun at a distance of about 120 million light-years. The exoplanet is more than eight times larger than Earth and is beyond our reach. The researchers call the planet a Hycean planet. The term consists of the words hydrogen and ocean and describes a planet that could hypothetically be habitable.

“Our ultimate goal is to detect life on a habitable exoplanet, which would change our understanding of our place in the universe,” Nikku Madhusudhan writes in the study. Even if this life were ‘just’ bacteria.