ARE WE ALONE?

SINCE MANY YEARS WE HAVE THE THOUGHT THAT WE MIGHT NOT BE THE ONLY ONES LIVING IN THE UNIVERSE.THAT MEANS THAT THERE MUST SOME OTHER LIVING ORGANISM LIVING BESIDES US.WE COMMONLY REFER TO THEM AS ALIENS.YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE ME BUT IT IS TRUE.
 
K2-18b
 
K2-18b, also known as EPIC 201912552 b, is an exoplanet orbiting the red dwarf K2-18, located 124 light-years (38 pc) away from Earth. The planet is a sub-Neptune about 2.6 times the radius of Earth, with a 33-day orbit within the star's habitable zone; it receives approximately a similar amount of light as the Earth receives from the Sun. Initially discovered with the Kepler space telescope, it was later observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in order to study the planet's atmosphere.
 

 
ATMOSPHERE OF K218b

The team's findings, based on their analysis of James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) data, point to an abundance of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) molecules in the atmosphere of a planet known as K2-18b, which circles its star about 120 light-years from Earth in the Leo constellation. Because DMS is almost exclusively produced by life forms like marine algae on Earth, astronomers consider it a potential "biosignature" in the search for life — past or present — elsewhere in the universe.
 
 
 
IT IS UNBELIEVEABLE RIGHT?
 
MOVING ON..
 
The sub-Neptune frontier has opened a new window into the rich diversity of planetary environments beyond the solar system.The possibility of hycean worlds, with planet-wide oceans and H2-rich atmospheres, significantly expands and accelerates the search for habitable environments elsewhere.Recent JWST transmission spectroscopy of the candidate hycean world K2-18 b in the near-infrared led to the first detections of carbon-bearing moleculesCH4 and CO2 in its atmosphere, with a composition consistent with  predictions for hycean conditions.The observations also provided a tentative hint of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a possible biosignature gas, but the inference was of low statistical significance.

The results also highlight the need for additional experimental and theoretical work to determine accurate cross sections of important biosignature gases and identify potential abiotic sources. We discuss the implications of the present findings for the possibility of biological activity on K2-18 b

 
IN CONCLUSION-
In short, K2‑18b doesn’t yet confirm alien life—but it’s a turning point. Its measured molecular signals push the boundaries of what current telescopes can detect and refine our models of habitability. As follow-up observations and analyses accumulate, this planet may reshape our understanding of where life might arise in the universe.
 

 

BY-
NAME-SANA JAIN
BATCH NUMBER-27