Scientists discover strongest evidence yet of life outside of Earth

We might not be alone in the universe after all.

A group of scientists from Cambridge University have found what might be evidence of life on another planet named K2-18b. 

The evidence in question is molecules which are only produced by simple organisms on Earth. Specifically, the team found evidence of gases usually produced by phytoplankton and bacteria.

Although this doesn’t definitively mean that there is life elsewhere in the universe, it is the strongest evidence of life outside of Earth so far.

The planet in question is about two and a half times bigger than Earth and is located 700,000,000,000,000 miles away from our home planet.

The Cambridge team of scientists behind the discovery says that it can get a better understanding of the planet’s possible inhabitants in two years.

The team’s discovery was possible due to Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope, which is able to determine the chemical composition of a planet’s atmosphere.

The planet has been of interest to scientists for a while following the 2019 discovery of water vapour in its atmosphere. On Earth, wherever there is water, one can find life.

However, water presence itself is not a definitive indicator of life. Earth’s neighbour Mars is another example of a planet containing forms of water.

The evidence of life on K2-18b is not conclusive, but if any form of life is discovered elsewhere in the universe, the discovery would forever change the way we see the world, the universe, science, and religion.