An artist's impression of the exoplanet K2-18b. Could an alien world have a biosphere? (Image credit: A. Smith, N. Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge))
The most talked about planet in the universe right now is K2-18b, a potentially habitable planet orbiting a small red star in the constellation Leo. Situated 124 light years from Earth, this mysterious planet will never host humans, but recent observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) suggest that alien life may already exist there in a vast, warm ocean.
A study by Cambridge University researchers published on April 17 found possible signs of life in the planet's atmosphere, in what the university said was the “most promising” evidence yet of life beyond Earth. However, just a week after the study was published, a growing number of scientists are beginning to question the sweeping claim.
“The statistical significance of the finding is low,” Eddie Schwieterman, an associate professor of astrobiology at the University of California, Riverside, who was not involved in the study, told Live Science in an email. “There are some grounds for skepticism.”
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