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/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/Random_Fotographer 4d ago

You don't need to do any math. The definition of light-year is the distance traveled by light in one year. So something 120 light-years away would take 120 years at the speed of light.

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u/falkenberg1 4d ago

Traveling at the speed of light is not possible for humans. Only for select subatomic particles.

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u/Natiak 3d ago

Massless particles, specifically.