1 day Ago By Pramode Mallik
ALIENS! Do they exist in our or any other solar system? Where are they? Do they look like us? How different are they from us? These and many more questions must have come to your mind when you have seen these mysterious and enigmatic living creatures in movies and read in science fiction. However, they will no longer be as mysterious as they are now. Dr Nikku Madhusudhan of Indian origin and his team of scientists have made research enough to shed at least some light on many of your curiosities about the existence of life beyond the Earth.
Life at distance of 120 light-years! After they carried out an in-depth study of K2-18b, a planet that lies 120 light-years from Earth, Madhusudhan and his colleagues found dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a gas that is made only by living creatures on the Earth. Marine algae mostly produce this gas on our planet. Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the team of astronomers analysed the light coming out from K2-18b, a 'sub-Neptune,' which is bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune.
Planet with oceans, sky After the planet was discovered in 2017, Dr. Madhusudan and his team thought it might be a Hycean planet. These are the planets that have oceans and skies that are rich in hydrogen.
Naturally, these are perfect for looking for life. An in-depth study, using the JWST, revealed that K2-18b has plenty of gases like methane, carbon dioxide, and DMS. The presence of the DMS was proved strong in 2023.
With these findings, the scientists concluded that life may exist there. Who is Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan? Born in India in 1980, Dr Madhusudhan went to the IIT (BHU), Varanasi, and studied engineering.
Later, he completed his master's and doctoral degrees in planetary science from MIT. He joined hands with Dr Sara Seager, a renowned exoplanet researcher. Madhusudan is currently a professor at Cambridge University.
He works mainly on extraterrestrial atmospheres and their potential for supporting life..
