Being so close (relatively speaking, of course -- being "only" 120 years away, when travelling at the speed of light!) allows very precise readings of the spectrum of its atmosphere, as it transits its host star. And that, as we reported in real time last year, had some tantalizing clues. But that is all they are -- as we say in the law, there. . . is only circumstantial evidence. [Which is pretty close to saying. . . no evidence at all.] Here's the hype machine on it though -- and, fun to think about, on a frigid day against the fifth largest fresh water body -- on our own planet:
. . .The hype, elevated by the near-mythic capabilities of the James Webb, stems from the telescope's detection of a potential biosignature on the exoplanet K2-18 b last year, a suspected ocean world around 8.6 times more massive than Earth and approximately 120 light years away. . . .
That's a huge clue that this "Hyacean" world — one with oceans and a hydrogen-rich atmosphere — is potentially home to life. Even better, the exoplanet lies in its star's habitable or "Goldilocks" zone, meaning the surface is neither too hot nor too cold for life as we know it. . . .
But the evidence, as Colón said, isn't definitive. More observations, perhaps with entirely new instruments, will be needed to confirm the detection. Moreover, it's possible that dimethyl sulfide can be produced without life. Understandably, scientists don't want to jump the gun. . . .
All those caveats aside, it hasn't stopped many in the community from being hopeful.
"I think we are going to get a paper that has strong evidence for a biosignature on an exoplanet very, very soon," said Rebecca Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford, as quoted by The Spectator. . . .
Now you know. Smiling into a warming trend -- positive numbers on the thermometer, until Friday night now, then another sub-zero plunge for about 30 hours -- and more new snow. So it. . . goes.
नमस्ते
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