Explainer: has life been discovered on an exoplanet?
By 
Julia Robinson2023-09-15T08:30:00
Potential detection of dimethyl sulfide on K2-18 b has excited the scientific community but it’s still much too early to reach any conclusions
On 11 September, a study reported observations of the exoplanet K2-18 b by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the most powerful space telescope ever built. The exoplanet’s spectrum revealed the presence of methane and carbon dioxide, but no ammonia, supporting the hypothesis that there may be a water ocean underneath the hydrogen rich atmosphere of K2-18 b.
However, the finding that created the biggest stir, particularly in the media, was that the exoplanet’s spectrum hinted at the presence of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a molecule which, on Earth, is only produced by life.
But is it too early to get excited and what further information is required to confirm if there really is life on the exoplanet?