New Miscellany: possible alien life (General)

by David Turell , Thursday, April 17, 2025, 17:52 (1 day, 15 hours, 32 min. ago) @ David Turell

A chemical only from life is found on distant planet:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/science/astronomy-exoplanets-habitable-k218b.html?ca...

From a previous discussion: "Thus fine-tuning is throughout the universe while life appeared so far only on Earth. We think life might be out there somewhere because the same factors are everywhere, so we discuss possible alien life."

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"Now a team of researchers is offering what it contends is the strongest indication yet of extraterrestrial life, not in our solar system but on a massive planet, known as K2-18b, that orbits a star 120 light-years from Earth. A repeated analysis of the exoplanet’s atmosphere suggests an abundance of a molecule that on Earth has only one known source: living organisms such as marine algae.

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"While inspecting K2-18b, Dr. Madhusudhan and his colleagues discovered it had many of the molecules they had predicted a Hycean planet would possess. In 2023, they reported they had also detected faint hints of another molecule, and one of huge potential importance: dimethyl sulfide, which is made of sulfur, carbon, and hydrogen.

"On Earth, the only known source of dimethyl sulfide is life. In the ocean, for instance, certain forms of algae produce the compound, which wafts into the air and adds to the sea’s distinctive odor. Long before the Webb telescope was launched, astrobiologists had wondered whether dimethyl sulfide might serve as a sign of life on other planets.

"Last year, Dr. Madhusudhan and his colleagues got a second chance to look for dimethyl sulfide. As K2-18b orbited in front of its star, they used a different instrument on the Webb telescope to analyze the starlight passing through the planet’s atmosphere. This time they saw an even stronger signal of dimethyl sulfide, along with a similar molecule called dimethyl disulfide."

Comment: this raises theological questions. Did God intend to have life everywhere? Does it reduce our central role importance? Or does God intend to produce alien humans elsewhere at a later time with possible different outcomes compared to our history. Does their potential appearance reduce God's interest in us?