As scientists reveal what could be the strongest evidence yet of extraterrestrial life, Matt Frei speaks to Nick Pope, a former Ministry of Defence official who led the MoD’s UFO investigations in the 1990s.Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope believe they’ve detected the chemical fingerprints of two compounds, dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), on the distant exoplanet K2-18b, located 124 light years from Earth. These chemicals are known to be produced by life on Earth.
While not definitive proof of alien life, the findings mark what could be the biggest step in decades towards its discovery.
“This is the strongest evidence to date for biological activity beyond the solar system,” said Professor Nikku Madhusudhan, an astrophysicist at the University of Cambridge who led the research.
Reacting to the discovery, Nick Pope describes it as “tremendously exciting” and believes it adds weight to the idea that life elsewhere in the universe could be similar to life on Earth.
“It seems logical that life out there is like us,” he says.
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