A tiny sign revealed in April looked like a sample to change the universe as we know it.

Astronomers had only identified one indication, a shine of two molecules swirling in the atmosphere of a distant planet called K2-18B.

Scientists have rejected as they thought it was time to shout “find” as these molecules found were produced on Earth only by living organisms.

It was a tempting perspective and the most promising proof so far of an alien life.

But a few weeks later, new findings suggest that research should continue.

“Was fascinating but also the importance or power of statistics seemed very high for the data“, Said Dr. Luis Welbanks Researcher at the Earth Explorer School and Space of the State University of Arizona.

What changed researchers’ opinion

Now, three groups of astronomers who did not participate in the first survey, including Welbanks, evaluated the data used in the original discovery and resulted in very different results.

Meanwhile, the lead author of the April study, Nikku Madhusudhan, and his colleagues conducted additional research that, they say, reinforces their previous finding on the planet. And it is likely that further observations and research by multiple groups of scientists are on the horizon.

While the molecules found on the K2-18B planet are largely related to microbial organisms on our planet, scientists now conclude that compounds can also form without the presence of life.

Who is the planet

Located 124 years of light from Earth and is generally considered a remarkable goal of searching for life signs.

It is believed to be a planet that is entirely covered by water with a hydrogen -rich atmosphere.

That was the main reason that K2-18B quickly attracted astrophysics’ attention as a potentially habitable place beyond our solar system.

Researchers from Cambridge used the largest space telescope, James Webb, to further study the planet.

However, two scientists at the University of Chicago identified problems. After examining the work of Madhusudhan and his team they noticed that the data from the Webb’s telescope looked “noisy”.

The noise, caused by imperfections in the telescope and the rate at which different light particles reach the telescope, is just one of the challenges facing astronomers when studying distant exoplanets. The noise can deform observations and introduce uncertainties into the data.

Further researching the work, Luque and Zhang also observed that the perceived planet’s temperature appeared to grow abruptly from a range of about 250 Kelvin to 300 Kelvin

Such temperatures could change the way astronomers think about the potential inhabitability of the planet especially because lower temperatures insist on the top of the atmosphere – the area that the telescope can detect – and the surface or ocean will probably have the highest temperatures.

They found “inadequate elements” for both molecules in the planet’s atmosphere.

For a century, astronomers have been studying the Barnard star in the hope of finding planets around him. It was first discovered by EE Barnard at the Yerkes Observatory in 1916 and is the nearest single -stricter system to Earth. Now, using the Gemini North telescope, half of the Gemini International Observatory, which is partially funded by the US National Foundation and operates by NSF Noirlab, astronomers discovered four subtle exoplanets on track around the star. One of the planets is the least massive exoplanet ever discovered using the radial speed technique, indicating a new reference point for discovering smaller planets around nearby stars.

“The new job implicitly admits that the detection of DMS/DMDs was not reliable, but it is still based on the same defective statistical framework and a selective reading of its own results,” Welbanks said in an email. “While the tone is more cautious (sometimes), the methodology continues to hide the true level of uncertainty. The statistical significance supported in previous work was a product of arbitrary modeling decisions that are not recognized. “

Luque said the new work of the Cambridge team is a step in the right direction because it is investigating other possible chemical bio-article.

“But I think it didn’t have the right scope,” Luke said. “I think he was overwhelmed to counter the work (Welbags).”

Separately, however, astronomers studying K2-18B agree that promoting the research on the exoplanet contributes to the scientific process.

“I think it’s just a good, healthy scientific dialogue to talk about what’s going on with this planet,” Welbanks said. “No matter what any individual authors group say right now, we don’t have a magical solution. But that is why this is exciting, because we know that we are as close as we have ever been (in finding a bio-article) and I think we can get it during our lives, but we are not there right now. This is not a failure. We try bold ideas. “

SOURCE: CNN