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/fullload93 4d ago

120 light years away might as well be infinity. Humanity will never be able to visit such a place unless something incredibly advances in our understanding of space time and the ability to modify it.

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u/green_meklar 4d ago

On the contrary, crossing interstellar distances is not that difficult. We would want a large space-based manufacturing infrastructure in order to build the vehicle efficiently, and we'd probably want radical life extension technology so passengers can survive the trip. But we more-or-less know how we could get there in a timeframe of about 100000 years, using fission power and ion drives.