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Astronomers Detect Promising Biosignatures in Atmosphere of Nearby Exoplanet
By Sarah Jenkins
Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 07:47 PM
1 min read
In Short (TL;DR)
Using next-gen space telemetry, researchers have identified methane and carbon dioxide signatures on an exoplanet situated in the habitable zone.... This represents the direct, synthesized summary of the ongoing situation.
GENEVA — A team of international astrophysicists has detected significant levels of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of 'K2-18b', a habitable-zone exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf star 120 light-years from Earth.
The discovery was made possible by advanced spectroscopy instruments aboard our latest space telescope array.
The Chemistry of Life While carbon dioxide is common on geological bodies, the combination of carbon dioxide with carbon-based methane signatures points to active chemical cycles that closely mirror biological actions on Earth.
"These molecular readings indicate that K2-18b may possess a liquid ocean beneath its cloud layers, which increases the likelihood of microbial life," noted the Lead Astrophysicist at the Swiss Observatory.
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