Recent reports of the James Webb Space Telescope detecting signs of life on a distant planet outside the Solar System are somewhat premature. That’s the conclusion of research conducted by scientists from the University of California, Riverside (UCR). While likely to disappoint all of us eager for the confirmation of extraterrestrial life, it doesn’t mean Webb won’t find traces of life in the atmosphere of an exoplanet in the future.
The excitement around the potential detection of life signs on an exoplanet started in 2023 when Webb detected potential biosignature elements in the atmosphere of the exoplanet K2-18 b, a super-Earth located around 120 light years from us. Though many exoplanets are extreme, violent or at least ‘alien’ in nature – whether they’re blasted by intense radiation from their stars, lack a solid surface or are frozen relics at the edge of their systems – K2-18 b was a tantalising target in the search for life because it’s rather similar to our planet.