The recent data from James Webb's telescope has caused a feeling: in the atmosphere of Exoplanet K2-18B, located in 125 light years from the Earth, the molecules were detected, produced on Earth by living creatures. We are talking about Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS) and its derivatives – potential biological marks. However, scientists, including an expert recognized in the field of Astrobiology, Sarah Sarah from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, warned: This is not evidence of life, but only a reason for further research. The work was published in the Procheding magazine of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
According to researchers, the James Webb telescope, although impressive, still cannot fix life definitely on other planets.
The idea that the telescope suddenly caught a silver bullet of Muslims was a molecule that showed the existence of life as an illusion, the authors of the article noted. The K2-18B prohibition is a planet that revolves around the red dwarf, and although such stars are ideal to study the use of the spectrum of the paragraph, they themselves make noise in certain activities: outbreaks, points and other magnetic phenomena.
In addition, explaining planets from telescopes is a difficult task. What we see is an average signal from the atmosphere, the inner structure of the planet and the owner. Remove it and separate the possible signs of life from other factors – so far the mission is almost insoluble.
The authors of the article distinguish three criteria to confirm the presence of biological marks: the reliability of the signal, determine its precision and reliable explanation in the context of the planet's attributes. In the case of K2-18B, in their opinion, not one of these conditions is met.
However, the James Webb telescope gives humanity a unique tool, which we all get closer to the answer to the main question: Are we alone in the universe? Each new spectrum, all molecules can be a step forward, even if it needs caution and patience.