The new dissertation lies on the tentalizing indicator picked up by the previous work: the potential presence of chemicals called Damithel Sulfide. It uses a device on James Webspace Telescope (JWST) that photographs K2-18B as it passes in front of its host star. A small portion of light that reaches Earth does this after passing through the planet environment, which causes chemicals there to leave a mark on the spectrum of light.
The research team used two different methods of making spectrum from JWST data, and the results are in good contract. He then searched for a combination of molecules, which, starting from the list of 20, can produce a similar spectrum. They found two: Damthael Sulfide and Damthael Desalfide (in view of the current data, we cannot tell the difference between the two).
On Earth, the only processes that naturally produce these chemicals are inside the cells, and before it was suggested to be a bio -scorch. Therefore, the researchers suggested that it could be a bio -scorch here, though they acknowledge that the importance of its indicator statistics, which is currently in three Sigma, is lacking in clear discovery. Nevertheless, it will be eligible for the University of Cambridge’s words Press release“The strongest indicator of biological activity yet.”
The reasons for doubt
So why do many astronomers disagree? Being compelled, an exoplanet has to clear several obstacles, which can be broken into three important questions.
- Is the planet what we think?
- Is the signal real?
- Are there more ways to create this signal?
Currently, none of these questions can be answered with any final yes.
The first question is, are we really looking at a Hyesen world? As researchers recognize in their dissertation, the presence of a sea on K2-18b depends very strongly on its weather: “The cloud/haer-free environment will make the surface very warm and it should be water in a supercratory condition.” And, as they later admit, the data obtained from JWST does not show any symbol of clouds. This does not mean that they are not there, but it certainly doesn’t help in this matter.