Recently, a group of scientists claimed they found possible signs of life on a planet called K2-18b. The news made headlines. Researchers said they'd detected sulphur-based gases that, on Earth, are strongly associated with life. But the research caused an uproar in astronomy circles because other scientists don't think the data is strong enough to celebrate an alien find just yet. In fact, they have some real issues with how this whole thing went down, and a new analysis casts further doubt on the findings. NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce is here to wade into the controversy — and tell us what all this means for the future of searching for life beyond our solar system. Want to hear more about new science research? Let us know by emailing [email protected] to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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You're listening to Shortwave from NPR. Hello, fellow Earthlings. Regina Barber here. And today we're going to talk about some recent science news that made a big splash. The claims that possible signs of life have been found on a planet called K2-18b. This made headlines everywhere, including NPR, where it was reported on by none other than our old pal, Nell Greenfield-Boyce. Hey, Nell.
Hey there. So, Nell, this was new research done with the James Webb Space Telescope. And basically, researchers said that they detected a couple of sulfur-based gases that on Earth are strongly associated with life, such as marine microbes.
That's right, like phytoplankton. So think alien phytoplankton. The researchers said this planet could be an ocean world just teeming with life. A press release called their results, quote, the strongest evidence yet that life may exist on a planet outside our solar system.
Yeah, and all of this created like quite the uproar in astronomy circles.
I think some astronomers and planetary scientists were just taken aback at how all this landed in the public's eye. Like I was talking with Ryan McDonald. He's at the University of Michigan.
For a lot of astronomers, the very first thing that we heard was like a message from a family member or a friend. Oh, hey, have you heard that aliens have been found?
Spoiler alert. He and other astronomers do not think that aliens have been found. And they have some real issues with how this whole thing went down.
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