A team of scientists led by Indian-origin astrophysicist Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan has uncovered possible signs of life on a distant exoplanet located over 120 light-years from Earth. The breakthrough centers on K2-18b, a planet in the Leo constellation that orbits a red dwarf star within its habitable zone—a region where conditions may allow for liquid water.
Dr. Madhusudhan, a professor at the University of Cambridge, called the results “the strongest evidence yet” of the possibility of extraterrestrial life. “I can realistically say that we can confirm this signal within one to two years,” he told the BBC.
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A planet that could support life
K2-18b is about 2.6 times the size of Earth. Scientists believe it may be a “Hycean” planet—a new class of worlds thought to have hydrogen-rich atmospheres and potentially global oceans. This environment, researchers say, could make it suitable for life even though it differs significantly from Earth.
The findings are based on data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Researchers detected carbon-based molecules like methane and carbon dioxide in K2-18b’s atmosphere using JWST’s Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) and Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec).
One of the most surprising findings was a potential trace of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a molecule that on Earth is produced only by living organisms, mainly marine phytoplankton. While this detection remains unconfirmed, NASA said additional observations will be able to verify if DMS is present in significant quantities.
Who is Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan?
Dr. Madhusudhan is widely known for his research on exoplanetary atmospheres and biosignatures. A graduate of IIT-BHU and MIT, he has previously held research roles at Yale, Princeton, and now Cambridge. His recent work has broadened the scope of what types of planets could support life, moving beyond Earth-like models.
“If we confirm that there is life on K2-18b, it should basically confirm that life is very common in the galaxy,” he said.
The team plans to continue monitoring the planet with JWST over the next year. They’ll be joined in the future by the European Space Agency’s Ariel mission, scheduled to launch in 2029, which will study the atmospheres of similar exoplanets in search of more clues about life beyond Earth.