| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away 07:32 - Apr 17 with 6135 views | StokieBlue |
Using the James Webb scientists have been able to analyse the compounds present on planet K2-18 b which is ~124 LY from Earth. This analysis has shown the presence of DMS and DMDS in the atmosphere which on Earth are only created by life, mainly marine phytoplankton [1][2].
K2-18 b is 2.6 times the size of Earth and lays within the habitable zone of it's star [3]. In 2019 the Hubble appeared to spot water vapour (and hints of DMS) and there is speculation that the planet is covered in a single deep ocean which would tally with marine organisms creating the biosignature.
Of course all of this is unproven, they aren't at the 5 sigma level of confidence yet and there may be other sources of DMS and DMDS that we don't know about because they don't exist on Earth but it's certainly a promising discovery with regards to the potential of life outside the solar system. If it's present on this planet, it's likely present everywhere.
SB
[1]. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/apr/17/scientists-hail-strongest-eviden
[2]. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c39jj9vkr34o
[3]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitable_zone [Post edited 17 Apr 7:32]
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 10:13 - Apr 17 with 1172 views | NthQldITFC |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 08:50 - Apr 17 by SimonBatfordITFC |
VAR isn’t used for goal line decisions. |
Damn! My careful research and meticulously constructed theory is marred once again by the tiniest of flaws. |  |
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 10:20 - Apr 17 with 1141 views | NthQldITFC |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 09:59 - Apr 17 by StokieBlue |
You're right that we don't have the technology to move anything big at any reasonable speed but there are theoretical designs using lasers and sails which could achieve 20% to 30% the speed of light with a micro-sized probe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakthrough_Starshot
Obviously not feasible for something that is 124 LY away though, especially given any data such a probe captured would take 124 years to get back to Earth. It's possibly viable for Alpha Centauri though.
SB |
I should probably know this already or look it up myself, but why the (approximate) 20-30% limit? What would be the limit to continuous acceleration in a 'gravity-free' environment and a 'vacuum'? Is it a mass|energy equivalence thing dependent upon speed? Do photons and nominal 'waves' become more 'massy' and provide drag at higher relative speeds?
Sir, please, sir? | |
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 10:28 - Apr 17 with 1122 views | StokieBlue |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 10:20 - Apr 17 by NthQldITFC |
I should probably know this already or look it up myself, but why the (approximate) 20-30% limit? What would be the limit to continuous acceleration in a 'gravity-free' environment and a 'vacuum'? Is it a mass|energy equivalence thing dependent upon speed? Do photons and nominal 'waves' become more 'massy' and provide drag at higher relative speeds?
Sir, please, sir? |
You're right that if you assume perfect delivery of power then you should be able to continuously accelerate to 99%+ the speed of light.
However (and this is from memory), I believe there are a few issues with using lasers which prevent this:
- The power consumption is going to be very high, I think they were thinking of a shortish push from the laser (30-60 minutes).
- Lasers loose coherence over distance so at some point the amount of force transferred to the sail is going to be minimal.
- The probe would have no way to slow down so if you're going too fast you're not going to get any data that you can send back to Earth.
That might not all be fully correct but I believe they are the main points.
SB | | | |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 10:36 - Apr 17 with 1106 views | blueasfook |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 10:28 - Apr 17 by StokieBlue |
You're right that if you assume perfect delivery of power then you should be able to continuously accelerate to 99%+ the speed of light.
However (and this is from memory), I believe there are a few issues with using lasers which prevent this:
- The power consumption is going to be very high, I think they were thinking of a shortish push from the laser (30-60 minutes).
- Lasers loose coherence over distance so at some point the amount of force transferred to the sail is going to be minimal.
- The probe would have no way to slow down so if you're going too fast you're not going to get any data that you can send back to Earth.
That might not all be fully correct but I believe they are the main points.
SB |
It's OK. In 2063, Zefram Cochrane is going to invent the warp drive. He will pilot the first ship The Phoenix on a short journey from Earth on 5th April, 2063. Vulcans will then spot the warp signature created and come visit us. |  |
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 10:45 - Apr 17 with 1094 views | iamatractorboy |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 09:09 - Apr 17 by StokieBlue |
The distances are quite mind-blowing. I took this picture of Messier 101 (Pinwheel Galaxy) in March - this is actually how it looked 21,000,000 years ago.
You can click for a slightly larger version.
SB |
Love this. |  | | |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 10:56 - Apr 17 with 1084 views | homer_123 |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 09:19 - Apr 17 by BanksterDebtSlave |
Now you're just being silly, God isn't that old. |
What about Facters? |  |
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 11:36 - Apr 17 with 1055 views | _clive_baker_ |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 09:48 - Apr 17 by Whos_blue |
And just for some more mind boggling context, 124 light years is 700 TRILLION miles!!!!!
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Makes the Proclaimers look a bit lazy when you put it like that. |  | | |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 12:52 - Apr 17 with 989 views | stonojnr |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 08:14 - Apr 17 by MattinLondon |
This is probably a silly question - but if we were all on K2-18 b and the James Webb was pointing at Earth. Would scientists be 100% convinced that there was life on this planet? |
Curiously when NASA were testing it's life searching equipment for Mars, on planet Earth, it could not detect life on Earth | | | |
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 13:01 - Apr 17 with 981 views | Illinoisblue |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 10:56 - Apr 17 by homer_123 |
What about Facters? |
Where is Facters? Did he get removed along with Glassers? |  |
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 13:02 - Apr 17 with 978 views | EdwardStone |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 12:52 - Apr 17 by stonojnr |
Curiously when NASA were testing it's life searching equipment for Mars, on planet Earth, it could not detect life on Earth |
No sign of intelligent life on Planet Earth?
I think we could all agree on that |  | | |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 13:03 - Apr 17 with 984 views | blueasfook |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 13:01 - Apr 17 by Illinoisblue |
Where is Facters? Did he get removed along with Glassers? |
Yep, he had to go in order to restore balance to the TWTD universe. Next one to go I believe will be a US poster in retaliation for Trump. | |
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 13:49 - Apr 17 with 917 views | PhilTWTD |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 13:01 - Apr 17 by Illinoisblue |
Where is Facters? Did he get removed along with Glassers? |
Was on his hols but has been on here more recently. |  | | |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 16:16 - Apr 17 with 826 views | SuperKieranMcKenna |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 13:02 - Apr 17 by EdwardStone |
No sign of intelligent life on Planet Earth?
I think we could all agree on that |
Harsh on dolphins! | | | |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 16:30 - Apr 17 with 810 views | StokieBlue |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 16:16 - Apr 17 by SuperKieranMcKenna |
Harsh on dolphins! |
Dolphins can actually be gits but they have good marketing.
"Whilst this isn’t wholly untrue, dolphins also exhibit a number of traits that suggest they're more complex in the “heroes and villains” stakes than they may first appear. Which is true of all creatures, and probably true of most humans we tend to hero worship (or villainise).
Dolphins are known to attack and kill baby dolphins. It is understood that this is because males see new calves as “competition”, so may try and see off the baby, so that the mother is free to make more babies.
And male dolphins are ruthless when it comes to mating. Males can form “gangs”, isolating females from other pods.
You’ve probably seen footage of dolphins playing. However, sometimes it may be that they’re 'playing' with other animals. A well-known example is a group of dolphins using a baby shark as a make-shift volleyball.
To humans, these behaviours may seem shocking, but it’s important to remember that scientific literature suggests these are quite normal, albeit somewhat violent, behaviours. Dolphins don’t have the same concept of consent as humans do."
SB | | | |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 16:34 - Apr 17 with 787 views | farkenhell |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 08:32 - Apr 17 by ThisIsMyUsername |
124 LY away. That distance...
Speed of light = 186,282 miles per second.
124 LY = the distance light travels in 124 years.
Impossible to get your head around such distances. |
I agree. Distances, quantity, scale, absolutely mind blowing. For example, the article states that 30 thousand extroplanets have been discovered since the first one in 1992. However, I read somewhere that scientists believe there are approximately 11 billion planets in the universe (I think that's what I read). | | | |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 16:38 - Apr 17 with 779 views | BlueBadger |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 08:32 - Apr 17 by ThisIsMyUsername |
124 LY away. That distance...
Speed of light = 186,282 miles per second.
124 LY = the distance light travels in 124 years.
Impossible to get your head around such distances. |
'Space is big. REALLY big..' |  |
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 16:46 - Apr 17 with 769 views | StokieBlue |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 16:34 - Apr 17 by farkenhell |
I agree. Distances, quantity, scale, absolutely mind blowing. For example, the article states that 30 thousand extroplanets have been discovered since the first one in 1992. However, I read somewhere that scientists believe there are approximately 11 billion planets in the universe (I think that's what I read). |
It's a lot more than 11 billion.
Our galaxy is a medium-sized galaxy and it has between 100 and 400 billion stars. If we go very conservative and say half of the 100 billion have planets and they only have 1 planet (highly unlikely, it is usually a lot more) then that's a very low end 50 billion planets in our galaxy.
The number is unknown but there are believed to be between 200 billion and 2 trillion galaxies in the universe, so a lower end planet estimate would be 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets in the universe and probably orders of magnitude more.
SB | | | |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 16:48 - Apr 17 with 765 views | Keno |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 16:38 - Apr 17 by BlueBadger |
'Space is big. REALLY big..' |
Live image being beamed back from planet
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 16:48 - Apr 17 with 767 views | BlueBadger |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 07:43 - Apr 17 by Keno |
Scientist also confirm it has a better atmosphere than Carrow Road, although in fairness the most inhospitable lifeless planet does as well |
On hearing about the possibility of aliens going to watch NCFC a weird multi limbed creature said 'we doont want them ale'yuns caaaamin heeeya'. | |
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 18:55 - Apr 17 with 685 views | farkenhell |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 16:46 - Apr 17 by StokieBlue |
It's a lot more than 11 billion.
Our galaxy is a medium-sized galaxy and it has between 100 and 400 billion stars. If we go very conservative and say half of the 100 billion have planets and they only have 1 planet (highly unlikely, it is usually a lot more) then that's a very low end 50 billion planets in our galaxy.
The number is unknown but there are believed to be between 200 billion and 2 trillion galaxies in the universe, so a lower end planet estimate would be 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets in the universe and probably orders of magnitude more.
SB |
Wow
(Not sure where I got the 11 billion from!) | | | |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 19:26 - Apr 17 with 669 views | Guthrum |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 13:49 - Apr 17 by PhilTWTD |
Was on his hols but has been on here more recently. |
Ah, phew. Was a little concerned when I saw he hadn't posted for nearly two months. |  |
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 19:28 - Apr 17 with 670 views | RadioOrwell |
As an atheist I always wonder about how theist apologists would react to the life on other planet problem.
I can imagine they'll double down but I'm wondering where they would go with it.
We humans are special and God made the universe for us but ... the life we just found on another planet is
: a test of our faith
: doesn't conflict with the bible / Koran / whatever holy book
: Isn't Earth Human and isn't as important as us
: Revelation !
: dig around the holy text and you'll find reference to it
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 19:41 - Apr 17 with 639 views | Swansea_Blue |
Everyone’s getting a bit carried away by this. If there is any life, it’ll only be the simplest of lifeforms and certainly not anything that’s developed intelligence.
The question everyone should be asking is how did any Norwich fans get out there in the first place?  |  |
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 19:43 - Apr 17 with 638 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 13:49 - Apr 17 by PhilTWTD |
Was on his hols but has been on here more recently. |
Any chance of a reprieve for Glassers? He used to wind me up something rotten at times, but I think it was coming from a genuine place and I miss him (don’t tell him that though!). | |
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| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 20:50 - Apr 17 with 605 views | Nthsuffolkblue |
| Scientists find possible biosignatures on an extrasolar planet 124 LY away on 19:28 - Apr 17 by RadioOrwell |
As an atheist I always wonder about how theist apologists would react to the life on other planet problem.
I can imagine they'll double down but I'm wondering where they would go with it.
We humans are special and God made the universe for us but ... the life we just found on another planet is
: a test of our faith
: doesn't conflict with the bible / Koran / whatever holy book
: Isn't Earth Human and isn't as important as us
: Revelation !
: dig around the holy text and you'll find reference to it
: |
Personally I don't think it likely to exist on other planets but it is possible for God to have created life for his own pleasure and for us to discover or not. It also would help us get some perspective on our place in creation. Is there any difference with life at the bottom of the oceans that we will probably never fully know about?
I found it interesting reading one of my favourite Christian authors C S Lewis and finding out his views on extra-terrestrial life. His space trilogy was a good read too. |  |
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