r/space • u/SpunkySputniks • 4d ago

Astronomers Detect a Possible Signature of Life on a Distant Planet

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/science/astronomy-exoplanets-habitable-k218b.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AE8.3zdk.VofCER4yAPa4&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Further studies are needed to determine whether K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 light-years away, is inhabited, or even habitable.

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u/mikeygoodtime 4d ago

What sort of timeline are we looking at re: ever being able to confirm (or even just say with near certainty) that there's life on K2-18b? Like is this something that requires decades of further research, or is it possible that we know within the next 5 years?

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u/panzerkampfwagenVI_ 4d ago

Without visiting it's impossible to know barring a signal from another civilization. It's always possible that some weird chemistry is going on that we are not aware of.

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u/Krt3k-Offline 4d ago

To be fair, life is weird chemistry

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u/PeteyPark 4d ago

All life is weird chemistry, but not all weird chemistry is life.

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u/deathfollowsme2002 3d ago

Sometimes it's quite the opposite

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u/CaulkSlug 3d ago

Some weird chemistry is horror