In April, a team of astronomers announced that they might have found signs of life on a planet over 120 light-years from Earth, reported Xinhua.
The mere possibility of extraterrestrial life was enough to attract attention worldwide. It also attracted intense scrutiny from other astronomers.
Over the past month, researchers have independently analyzed the data, which suggested that the planet, called K2-18b, has a molecule in its atmosphere that could have been created by living organisms, The New York Times reported on Friday. Three different analyses have all reached the same conclusion: They see no compelling evidence for life on K2-18b.
"The claim just absolutely vanishes," Luis Welbanks, an astronomer at Arizona State University and an author of one of the studies, was quoted as saying.
"The debate has less to do with the existence of alien life than with the challenge of observing distant planets," noted the report. One can see a nearby planet like Jupiter because it reflects enough sunlight to become visible to the naked eye. But a planet like K2-18b is so far away that it becomes invisible not just to the naked eye but to conventional telescopes.
- Distant planet
- Signs of life
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
