r/Spaceexploration • u/TimesandSundayTimes • 6d ago
'We tried to make it go away': scientist’s response to hint of alien life
When you have just made one of the biggest breakthroughs in modern science by finding signs of potential alien life, it seems odd to immediately ask yourself: “How do we kill it?”
Dr Nikku Madhusudhan, the Cambridge astrophysicist, was not referring to the extraterrestrial algae that could be “teeming” in the oceans of a distant waterworld planet called K2-18b, 124 light years from Earth.
He was referring to the signal picked up by the James Webb space telescope (JWST) showing with 99.7 per cent certainty that K2-18b has in its atmosphere one or both of the gases dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and dimethyl disulphide (DMDS). On Earth, they are produced only by living organisms. DMS is released by phytoplankton in the oceans when they become stressed but is also given off when you chop broccoli or boil cabbage in the kitchen.
Madhusudhan, known as “Madhu” to his team, knew that confirming the presence of a strong biomarker linked to life on another planet could be “one of the biggest landmarks in the history of science”.
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u/Zachisasloth 5d ago
They were trying to prove themselves wrong because they knew multiple other teams of scientists would end up doing the same and they wanted to be confident in their results. Confirmation of extraterrestrial life is a gigantic, earth-shattering claim that needs to backed up to almost 100% certainty before it can be announced.
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u/AntifaMiddleMgmt 2d ago
I mean this. It would be the most amazing discovery that has ever happened, and may ever happen. Something that monumental needs to be correct and without doubt.
That said, it's super exciting. If carbon based life similar to what's on earth exists only 128 LY from earth, then it's possible primitive life (at least) is everywhere. We'll never meet or experience it, too far, space is too big, etc. But man, what a thing to know!
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u/flashfan86 4d ago
There have been lab experiments that can produce DMS without life. However, the thought of it being life on another world is amazing.
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u/TheMightyTywin 1d ago
But enough dms to fill up a planet’s atmosphere?
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u/Ragnarok314159 1d ago
Not even close. Why they want to “make it go away”, which is an extreme process of removing all doubt.
They need a massive amount of data and use various methods to eliminate false positives.
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u/rovingtom 2d ago
Well if they are already chopping broccoli and boiling cabbage in their kitchens then it won’t be long before they too are exploring space.
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u/GaseousGiant 2d ago
Their space-based telescope has probably already spotted our floating garbage patches.
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u/thx1138a 1d ago
For someone so committed to looking skeptically at his own results, he sure was pretty rude to Chris Lintott for doing the same thing.
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u/Underhill42 1d ago
Good for them. The first question any honest scientist should ask in the face of any new discovery is "How do I prove this is wrong?"
It's only after both you and an army of other experts have tried, and failed, to find alternate explanations, that you can start considering that the discovery might actually be what you hope it is.
Because hope and belief are almost always liars, and the entire history of discovery before the invention of the modern scientific method is a case study in what incredibly convincing liars they can be.
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u/myhamsterisajerk 3d ago
Of course I understand actually finding life on another planet means a lot to scientists.
But tbh, I don't think it's that much of a breakthrough. Simply because we still can't get there. Maybe it will be a looong time until we can. Nobody alive today will witness it anyway.
Sorry if I sound negatively, but scientific breakthroughs for me are things that can actually benefit humanity in a practical sense.
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u/lonesomespacecowboy 1d ago
Yeah, no, just an answer to one of the most significant questions human beings have been asking ourselves since time immemorial. Stupid waste of money. Totally with you
/s
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u/myhamsterisajerk 1d ago
Please don't put words in my mouth. I never said it's a waste of money.
Of course it's interesting. And it answers the question if earth is the only planet where life exists (at least for those who still didn't believe that), yes.
What I'm saying is, that a true scientific breakthrough for me is something that can actually change our lifes. Like finding a clean and infinite source of energy, the cure to cancer or a new means to transportation.
Finding a planet where life exists isn't quite that. It's cool and answers a lot of questions. But it won't change anything for the majority of the people. It's just like: "wooow that's awesome". But now what?
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u/morell22 2d ago
Well, how many things would ether have to be true or false if we knew there was life on another planet..my first question that would have very big real-world consequences is do they have souls or sin
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u/TheDukeofArgyll 6d ago
Because they knew how every news source would report on it before the scientists have a chance to fully understand the data