From Newsgroup: talk.origins


https://archive.is/ApwLm

New observations fail to confirm signs of life
in the atmosphere of the distant planet K2-18b.
They also raise questions about what it will
take to detect biology light-years away.

In April, a team of scientists based at the
University of Cambridge claimed that a planet
orbiting a distant star bore a possible
signature of life. The announcement kicked up
a fierce debate among astronomers, with many
skeptics arguing that the evidence was too
ambiguous.

Now a NASA-led team has made a new set of
observations of the planet known as K2-18b,
which lies 124 light-years from Earth. They
have provided a clearer picture of the planet
rCo confirming the presence of water, perhaps
even as a liquid ocean.

But the new observations have failed to confirm
evidence for life. In the original study, the
Cambridge team claimed that K2-18b appeared to
have a gas in its atmosphere that on Earth is
produced only by living things. The NASA study
did not find strong evidence for that gas.

WhatrCOs more, the NASA team argues that even if
the gas was on K2-18b, it might have formed
through mere chemistry. What once seemed like
a promising clue of life rCo a biosignature rCo
might be a mirage.

rCLA key takeaway is that biosignatures are going
to be hard, no matter what kind of planet we
are talking about,rCY said Jacob Bean, an
astronomer at Cornell University, who was not
involved in the study.
...

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From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 7/24/25 11:48 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

https://archive.is/ApwLm

New observations fail to confirm signs of life
in the atmosphere of the distant planet K2-18b.
They also raise questions about what it will
take to detect biology light-years away.

This is misleading, to say the least.

K2-18B and it's "Biosignatures" were first detected
years ago. I posted about it in 2023, two years ago,
noting that Dimethyl sulfide could be the answer to
the Snowball Earth mystery.

Unfortunately I posted here, where the collective
wigged out because, as you know, the collective is
severely mentally ill and find discussions exobiology
and extinction events here on earth to be VERY
triggering...

But the Dimethyl sulfide was hardly the only biosignature.
It's a BETTER biosignature because we're not aware of any
source apart from life but, most biosignatures can also
stem from non biological sources...

Anyway, they also reported both Methane and CO2.

In April, a team of scientists based at the
University of Cambridge claimed that a planet
orbiting a distant star bore a possible
signature of life.

No. Wrong. A lie. THAT was a confirmation of a two-years
previous find.

The announcement kicked up
a fierce debate among astronomers, with many
skeptics arguing that the evidence was too
ambiguous.

So am I the only man alive who can remember back further
than a SINGLE news cycle?

https://groups.google.com/g/talk.origins/c/Zq3eoisLrxo/m/qXx6VY5zAAAJ

There. That's me in 2023 speculating on the role of
Dimethyl sulfide in the Snowball Earth event. And, yes,
it really wasn't a random point. The stories about the
K2-18b is what brought the issue to mind!

And here's the NASA page from Sep. 2023:

https://www.nasa.gov/universe/exoplanets/webb-discovers-methane-carbon-dioxide-in-atmosphere-of-k2-18-b/

Now a NASA-led team has made a new set of
observations of the planet known as K2-18b,
which lies 124 light-years from Earth. They
have provided a clearer picture of the planet
rCo confirming the presence of water, perhaps
even as a liquid ocean.

But the new observations have failed to confirm
evidence for life. In the original study, the
Cambridge team claimed that K2-18b appeared to
have a gas in its atmosphere that on Earth is
produced only by living things. The NASA study
did not find strong evidence for that gas.

WhatrCOs more, the NASA team argues that even if
the gas was on K2-18b, it might have formed
through mere chemistry. What once seemed like
a promising clue of life rCo a biosignature rCo
might be a mirage.

rCLA key takeaway is that biosignatures are going
to be hard, no matter what kind of planet we
are talking about,rCY said Jacob Bean, an
astronomer at Cornell University, who was not
involved in the study.
...

--
https://jtem.tumblr.com/tagged/The%20Book%20of%20JTEM/page/5

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From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 7/24/25 11:48 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

In April, a team of scientists based at the
University of Cambridge claimed that a planet
orbiting a distant star bore a possible
signature of life.

This was confirmation of a previous analysis of the
very same planet.

The planet has been of special interests since at
least 2015. He was considered a candidate for life
back then. They detected Dimethyl sulfide in the
atmosphere two years ago, or at least that's when
it was reported, and they confirmed the findings
again in April.

Dimethyl sulfide is a VERY tasty biosignature
because, unlike most biosignatures, we know of
no non-biological means to produce it.

Well. It can be the result of industrial emissions,
yes, but those in term are the product of biological
activity i.e. man.

So they found MORE THAN ONE biosignature and even
even got a confirmation of this all important Dimethyl
sulfide signature.

But the new observations have failed to confirm
evidence for life.

This is not all that interesting.

We have a detection of biosignatures. We have a
confirmation of those biosignatures. And then we
have a "Failed to Confirm."

It's been confirmed.

In the original study, the
Cambridge team claimed that K2-18b appeared to
have a gas in its atmosphere that on Earth is
produced only by living things. The NASA study
did not find strong evidence for that gas.

This is stating that they found evidence for the gas.

"Strong" is the word you need to take note of. They
are NOT saying that they did not find evidence, they
are saying that they did find evidence but it's not
very "Strong."

So we have three studies finding evidence for this
Dimethyl sulfide....

WhatrCOs more, the NASA team argues that even if
the gas was on K2-18b,

There are ZERO non biological sources on the planet
earth.

The gas was found in 2023. They confirmed that finding
in April. Now NASA just found evidence for that gas though
they say it's not "Strong" evidence... and that a gas with
ZERO non biological sources could have resulted from a
non biological source....

it might have formed
through mere chemistry.

It's not know to have EVER come into existence from a
non biological source.

What once seemed like
a promising clue of life rCo a biosignature rCo
might be a mirage.

Actually, it looks more like NASA is actively squashing
the story.

But even their claims here, which as incredibly misleading,
do imply that they found alien life.

NASA found evidence for that life! They say it's not
"Strong" evidence but even "Less than strong evidence" is
still evidence, AND TOGETHER WITH THE PREVIOUS FINDINGS
strengthens the claim that we have found a life bearing
world.
--
https://jtem.tumblr.com/tagged/The%20Book%20of%20JTEM/page/5

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