Scientists have discovered possible life in the atmosphere of a far away planet.
(PLGNN) - Scientists have discovered possible extra terrestrial life on the planet K2-18b, which is a planet 120 light years away. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), has found traces of dimethyl sulfide in the atmosphere of K2-18b. Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS), is mostly a product of phytoplankton on Earth, which means that potentially K2-18b could be home to some living organisms.
According to The Astrophysical Journal Letters, these discoveries by JWST require further validation. K2-18b is in its stars habitable zone, which is the area that has the perfect conditions to contain life, also known as the "Goldilocks Zone". In 2019, the Hubble Space Telescope found found evidence of possible water vapor in its atmosphere. The new research also revealed carbon-bearing molecules such as methane and carbon dioxide. Due to all of this, it's also extremely possible the planet has its own oceans.
These discoveries are extremely exciting within the scientific community as it shows the advancement we've made over the past few decades in technology. As humans, we only recently landed on the moon, and now there is already potential for life to be discovered using our modern technology. Due to the recent Silicon Valley advancements in Artificial Intelligence, we are advancing the ways of analyzing photos, which will be incredibly helpful for finding more data similar to this.
In the past year, governments have also taken reports of extra terrestrial life being seen on Earth seriously, and in July 2023, United States Congress had a hearing with high level intelligence officers testifying under oath about the existence of non-human biologics found in recovered Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) wreckage. Whether or not these claims are true, it's a step in the right direction for the discovery of intelligent life in the universe.