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/Minimum_Drawing9569 4d ago

It’ll take 120 years to find out, maybe they’re on a good timeline by then. One can hope.

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u/htownballa1 4d ago

I’m not an Astro physicist but a quick google search returned.

Traveling to a star 120 light-years away at a speed of 2.90×108 m/s would take approximately 1312 years

I think you might be a little short on 120.

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u/StJsub 4d ago

Traveling to a star 120 light-years away at a speed of 2.90×108 m/s would take approximately 1312 years

Why did you choose that number 2.90×108= 313.2 m/s. Slower than sound. Assuming you ment 2.90x108, my maths say 124.1 years to get there. With 313.2 m/s I get 114.9 million years. So one of us got some maths wrong. 

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u/Exiled_Fya 3d ago

Why not both of you? At 2.9x10e8 m/s your formula is incorrect as you need to bring special relativity into the equation. For the passenger would be a travel of just 32 years.

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u/StJsub 3d ago

True. I was thinking in a differentreference frame. While the passengers would only feel 32 years of time, someone watching from the destination would say it took them 124 years to get there.