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On this topic, not only researchers from Cambridge and Manchester universities improvised, but also artificial intelligence. The thing is that the publication Daily Mail asked AI depict possible forms of life on the ocean-covered planet K2-18b, based on researchers’ data.
The exoplanet K2-18b is located about 124 light-years away from Earth. Lands in the constellation Leo. It is 2.6 times larger and 8.6 times more massive than Earth.
It should be explained here what led scientists to the assumption of signs of life on a distant planet. planet Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers have discovered a vast amount of chemical substances in the atmosphere of K2-18b that are produced by living organisms on Earth. These include, in particular, dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS).
By the way, this astonishing discovery among astronomers at Cambridge University evokes associations with a “ocean teeming with life.”
Plankton
The most likely scenario is that oceans K2-18b is filled with something akin to phytoplankton – microscopic organisms that feed on the energy of the nearby star – the red dwarf K2-18. However, where there is plankton, there is the potential for the development of more complex life forms that feed on this abundant source of food.
Arik Kershenbaum, a researcher from the University of Cambridge, noted that DMS and DMSP are complex chemical compounds that break down very quickly. The scientist remarked, “Even if there is an ocean on this planet, it would be more similar to Earth three to four billion years ago, when life was just beginning to emerge.” However, Dr. Kershenbaum believes that life on K2-18b would be very different from life on present-day Earth.
Filters
Dr. Kershenbaum gave another hint to the artificial intelligence that was supposed to depict alien life on K2-18b: “When organisms that capture light from a star (like plants do on our planet) die and sink into the water, other organisms that feed on the dead creatures may arise.”
Dr. Kershenbaum suggested that if more complex life were to evolve on an exoplanet, it might resemble some of the ancient filter feeders on Earth. The first organisms to feed on microorganisms on our planet were single-celled organisms known as choanoflagellates. They are the most ancient ancestors of all animals on Earth. They resembled tiny badminton shuttlecocks that used microscopic hairs to suck in bacteria. Why couldn’t simple beings on K2-18b be similar to them?
The first filtering animal on our planet was a large shrimp-like creature called Tamisiocaris borealis, which lived 540 million years ago.
Although it is unlikely, if there is more complex life on K2-18b, it could have evolved in that way. While complex animals emerged on Earth “only recently,” the fossil record of our planet provides some insights into what extraterrestrial life might be like.
Even more complex organisms
The likelihood that more complex forms of life could exist on K2-18b is minimal. However, if they do exist there, scientists have some ideas about what they might look like.
Michael Garrett, a professor at the University of Manchester, noted: “The complexity of life on a planet can largely depend on the environment in which it develops. If your star is a red giant, you might find someone with eyes that are significantly more sensitive and larger than yours.”
Professor Garrett also stated that if this exoplanet had a thin atmosphere, it could support life forms with enormous wings.
According to scientists, since K2-18b is an ocean world, its oceans could also be home to strange alien flying fish and even seabirds.
