THE DEBRIEF - On New Year’s Eve 2023, amid appearances by Joss Stone and Rod Steward on Jools Holland’s holiday ‘Musical Hootenanny’, a major 2024 revelation was alluded to: soon, we might learn that we aren’t alone in the universe.
The insinuations that the discovery of alien life could be imminent all followed news from earlier that year, where NASA revealed that the James Webb Space Telescope had detected carbon-bearing molecules, including methane and carbon dioxide, on the exoplanet K2-18 b.
“Webb’s discovery adds to recent studies suggesting that K2-18 b could be a Hycean exoplanet,” NASA reported at the time, “one which has the potential to possess a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface.” Of particular significance was the apparent detection of dimethyl sulfide on the exoplanet, which astronomers recognize as a potential indicator of life.
“On Earth, this is only produced by life,” NASA reported of the discovery.
“Webb’s discovery adds to recent studies suggesting that K2-18 b could be a Hycean exoplanet,” NASA reported at the time, “one which has the potential to possess a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface.” Of particular significance was the apparent detection of dimethyl sulfide on the exoplanet, which astronomers recognize as a potential indicator of life.
“On Earth, this is only produced by life,” NASA reported of the discovery.
...
“The best biosignatures on an exoplanet may differ significantly from those we find most abundant on Earth today,” explained UCR astrobiologist Eddie Schwieterman, a senior author of the UC Riverside team’s study published earlier this year. “On a planet with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, we may be more likely to find DMS made by life instead of oxygen made by plants and bacteria as on Earth.”
In other words, a conclusive determination of the presence of DMS in K2-18 b’s atmosphere could reveal a lot about any life that may exist there, as well as the habitat in which it thrives.