Astronomers have for the first time discovered water in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting within the habitable zone of a distant star.

The finding makes the world - which is called K2-18b - a plausible candidate in the search for alien life.

Within 10 years, new space telescopes might be able to determine whether K2-18b's atmosphere contains gases that could be produced by living organisms.

Details were published in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy.

The lead scientist, Prof Giovanna Tinetti of University College London (UCL) described the discovery as "mind blowing".

"This is the first time that we have detected water on a planet in the habitable zone around a star where the temperature is potentially compatible with the presence of life," she said.

The habitable zone is the region around a star where temperatures are sufficiently benign for water to exist in liquid form on the surface of a planet.

K2-18b is 111 light-years - about 650 million million miles - from Earth, too far to send a probe. So the only option is to wait for the next generation of space telescopes to be launched in the 2020s and to look for gasses in the planet's atmosphere that could only be produced by living organisms, according to UCL's Dr Ingo Waldmann.

"This is one of the biggest questions in science and we have always wondered if we are alone in the Universe," Dr Waldmann said. "Within the next 10 years, we will know whether there are chemicals that are due to life in those atmospheres."

What is an exoplanet?

Planets beyond our Solar System are called exoplanets

The first exoplanet was discovered in 1992, orbiting a pulsar (a neutron star that emits electromagnetic radiation)

More than 4,000 have been detected to date using several techniques

Many of these worlds are large planets believed to resemble Jupiter or Neptune

Many giant planets have been found orbiting very close to their stars

The team behind the discovery looked through the planets discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope between 2016 and 2017. The researchers determined some of the chemicals in their atmosphere by studying the changes to the starlight as the planets orbited their suns. The light filtered through the planets' atmospheres was subtly altered by the composition of the atmosphere.

Only K2-18b revealed the molecular signature of water, which is a vital ingredient for life on Earth. Computer modelling of the data suggested that up to 50% of its atmosphere could be water.

The new planet is just over twice the size of Earth and has a temperature cool enough to have liquid water, between zero and 40C.

Dr Angelos Tsiaras, a member of the UCL team, said that finding water in the atmosphere of a potentially habitable exoplanet was "incredibly exciting".

He said: "It brings us closer to answering the fundamental question: Is the Earth unique?"

Long haul

One difficulty with this approach, though, is that astronomers can't agree on which gases would constitute evidence of life. That might be more of a longer haul.

It is likely to require a survey of the chemical composition of, perhaps, hundreds of worlds and an understanding of how they are created and evolve, according to Prof Tinetti.

"The Earth really stands out in our own Solar System. It has oxygen, water and ozone. But if we find all that around a planet around a distant star we have to be cautious about saying that it supports life," she said.

"This is why we need to understand not just a handful of planets in the galaxy but hundreds of them. And what we hope is that the habitable planets will stand out, that we will see a big difference between the planets that are habitable and the ones that are not."

Dr Beth Biller at Edinburgh University's Institute of Astronomy said she believed that evidence of life on a planet around a distant star would eventually be discovered.

"That would be a paradigm shift for all of humanity," she told BBC News.

"It's not going to be ET phoning home, necessarily - more likely microbes or some other simple life. Even so (when it happens) it's going to be huge".

The prospective launch of Nasa's much delayed James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in 2021, and the European Space Agency's Ariel mission seven years later, will enable astronomers to study in detail the atmospheres of the varied worlds that have been detected so far.

Water has been detected on other planets but they have been either too big or too hot to support life. Cooler smaller planets are much harder to detect. The team at UCL was able to do this by developing algorithms capable of teasing out the chemical composition of the atmospheres of potentially habitable worlds

K2-18b was discovered in 2015 and is one of hundreds of super-Earths - planets with a mass between Earth and Neptune - found by Nasa's Kepler spacecraft. Nasa's Tess mission is expected to detect hundreds more in coming years.

The research was funded by the European Research Council and the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, which is part of the UK Research and Innovation agency (UKRI).

Source: bbc.com

It would be amusing to find conscious beings on some other planet. We'd be like kids who found daddy had another family hidden away somewhere.

They are shifting the goal post again. Some centuries ago, emotional "scientists" swore that life will be found on moon, venus and mars. A decade or two ago they swore again that life will be discovered with the help of advanced telescopes by 2020/2021. Today they are shifting the goal post again.

I do not doubt in the existence of extraterrestrial life. What i think is 10000000% impossible is that life began through random/natural means. It's absolutely impossible.

Looking for life on other planets while E.T has been visiting this planet for centuries

OgaVoltron:
Looking for life on other planets while E.T has been visiting this planet for centuries

I will like a fact based evidence on this?

budaatum:
It would be amusing to find conscious beings on some other planet. We'd be like kids who found daddy had another family hidden away somewhere.

Such evidence will come into reality in the next 10 years according to science prediction.

OpenYourEyes1:
They are shifting the goal post again. Some centuries ago, emotional "scientists" swore that life will be found on moon, venus and mars. A decade or two ago they swore again that life will be discovered with the help of advanced telescopes by 2020/2021. Today they are shifting the goal post again.

I do not doubt in the existence of extraterrestrial life. What i think is 10000000% impossible is that life began through random/natural means. It's absolutely impossible.

Giving an estimation of life outside our planet is an inteligent guess. we actually may not be living alone. there are many natural element here that is replicable on other planet which seems to suggest life may exist in other planet. I even go further that if life is established, Gold, diamond , crude oil etc will be discovered there as well.

Dscouraging this notion is not scientific, it simply an act of ignorance especially when there are lot of assumption and approximation.

vaxx:
Giving an estimation of life outside our planet is an inteligent guess. we actually may not be living alone. there are many natural element here that is replicable on other planet which seems to suggest life may exist in other planet. I even go further that if life is established, Gold, diamond , crude oil etc will be discovered there as well.

Discouraging this notion is not scientific, it simply an act of ignorance especially when there are lot of assumption and approximation.

I was thinking just the other day how we humans are so blind that we see everything from our limited POV. The elements which make up life on earth necessarily not be the same as that of other planets. This leaves a tremendous Black hole yet a opening for endless possibilities.

kkins25:
I was thinking just the other day how we humans are so blind that we see everything from our limited POV. The elements which make up life on earth necessarily not be the same as that of other planets. This leaves a tremendous Black hole yet a opening for endless possibilities.

I wish I am alive by then. when the reality unfold itself, when we begin to have a direct relationship with species of other planet . it will be a game changer to so many unknown and radical believes.


our knowledge of the entire world will really need to be updated .

vaxx:
I wish I am alive by then. when the reality unfold itself, when we begin to have a direct relationship with species of other planet . it will be a game changer to so many unknown and radical believes.


our knowledge of the entire world will really need to be updated .

I too cant wait, and hope its sooner than later. Nothing would bring me more joy than publicly declaring to the world of fanatics out there; "In your face suckers"..lol..

On the other hand, hopefully the extraterrestrials would not deem us inferior and decide to export us for slavery. It'll be colonization all over again with no hope of freedom. Lol!!

Pity, even sane people buying this bullshit.

Whatever they are. They're DEMONs. Did you notice most idols and masqurades of many cultures look alike. And compare them with the ones in alien movies. The earth once had visitors Anunakis/Aliens/E.Ts. They gave and taught our forefathers the art of many powers. Some for agriculture, herbs, child bearing e. t. c in places like Persia/Babylon/Greece/Egypt they gave them astronomy, Maths, alchemy etc.

kkins25:
I too cant wait, and hope its sooner than later. Nothing would bring me more joy than publicly declaring to the world of fanatics out there; "In your face suckers"..lol..

On the other hand, hopefully the extraterrestrials would not deem us inferior and decide to export us for slavery. It'll be colonization all over again with no hope of freedom. Lol!!

check this

vaxx:
check this

Perhaps they'll someday find Adam and Eve.

Hello vaxx.

vaxx:
check this

Hi vaxx, kindly quote me the source that suggests South Africa and Ghana are the largest recipients of American students in Sub Saharan Africa respectively, sometimes back you posted the source in the Kenya Nigeria thread before it was closed.

vaxx:
check this

welcome vaxx, long time. hooe you're doing good, would definitely do so.