Exoplanet K2-18b has been talked about quite a bit on science news segments around the world. News programs, as they often do, take a bit of new science and sensationalize it to try to get as many clicks and views as they can. In this case, they are taking information from a new study that was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters and using it to make the incredible claims that scientists have found very strong evidence of life on the planet in question.

This planet is about 2.6 times larger in radius than Earth and it orbits a red dwarf star around 124 light-years away from us. The study, which was a continuation of years of work done by the University of Cambridge, with new data being gathered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), found that the planet’s atmosphere contains dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS).

These two gasses are also found on earth and here, they are produced by things like phytoplankton and certain microbes. So, the study theorizes, if they are produced by biological life here on Earth, there is a good chance that they are produced by biological life there as well. This is further supported by the fact that many astronomers believe that this planet has a large water ocean below the atmosphere, but that has not been proven and other experts dispute it.

In a statement about the study, lead author Professor Nikku Madhusudhan, said:

“Earlier theoretical work had predicted that high levels of sulfur-based gases like DMS and DMDS are possible on Hycean worlds. And now we’ve observed it, in line with what was predicted. Given everything we know about this planet, a Hycean world with an ocean that is teeming with life is the scenario that best fits the data we have.”

So, this is a pretty strong statement suggesting that life on the planet is likely. In the study itself, however, the claims are much more muted. After all, DMS and DMDS are not exclusively found where biological life is present. Indeed, they have also been located on comets that have no life on them at all.

In the end, as with so many things in science, the answer to the question about whether there is life on this planet or not is a simple, “We don’t know…yet.” There is definitely strong reasons to keep looking, and even to be cautiously optimistic, but it absolutely can’t be claimed that life is certain or even likely at this point.

Also, it is always important to note with this type of story that even if life is proven on this planet, it is much more likely to be microscopic than it would be to have any similarities to intelligent lifeforms found here on Earth.

The research can be left to the astronomers. The rest of us can sit back and hope that proof is found that definitively proves that life exists out there beyond our own small planet.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a second giant hole has opened up on the sun’s surface. Here’s what it means.