by Scientists may have replied whether we are in the universe alone after we discovered evidence of potential life on a distant planet after a groundbreaking telescope.
The team of the University of Cambridge found signs of molecules when he studied the atmosphere of the planet K2-18B, about 124 light years from Earth. These molecules may be associated with biological processes, according to the team.
Although these results indicate that life in the atmosphere of the planet was determined, the team emphasized that they need more data and time to certainly say that life is in the universe elsewhere.
The senior researcher Prof. Nikku Madhusudhan told the BBC: “This is the strongest evidence that has existed so far. I may realistically say that we can confirm this signal within a year or two.”
Madhusudhan said that the amount of gas in the atmosphere of K2-18B indicates that the planet could be “full of life”.
The potential discovery of life elsewhere can be attributed to the unprecedented sensitivity of the James WebB World Cup telescope of NASA. The researcher introduced in 2021 enabled the researchers to analyze the atmosphere of further worlds with remarkable precision and to exceed the limits of what was once considered possible.
This milestone underlines the state -of -the -art technology of the telescope and its role in astronomy and its ability to re -shape our understanding of space.
What is the James Webb Space Telescope?
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a powerful space, with which the earliest galaxies, stars and planets of the universe are to be examined.
On December 25, 2021 from French Guayana, it circles the sun, which is about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth from Earth called L2 from Earth, so that it observes cool and deep space.
The mission of JWST is expected to take 5 to 10 years, with enough fuel for possibly longer. According to James E Webb, from 1961 to 1968, from 1961 to 1968, which was committed to space research, the telescope was named and is a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
How big is it?
JWST is about the size of a tennis court when it is fully used. It houses a 6.5 metrical primary mirror, which consists of 18 hexagonal, gold -coated beryllium segments that fit together like a puzzle and have approximately the size of a small living room.
The sun’s disk of the telescope, which protects it from heat and light, extends from 21 meters and 14 meters – is about as long as a bus and as wide as a double garage.
At the start, however, JWST was put together to fit into a rocket and measure about 10.5 meters high and 4.5 meters wide, about the size of a large truck.
Once in space, it developed up to its size.
What are the most important scientific goals?
The telescope was developed to help scientists learn more about the universe and its origins.
In particular, there are four mission goals:
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Search for the first galaxies or bright objects that formed for the Big Bang
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Determine how these galaxies have developed, starting from the time when you have formed to this day
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Observe how stars were formed from your first phases to planet systems
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Examine the possibility of life on other planets by measuring your physical and chemical properties
What makes it so special?
According to Dr. David Clements, reader in astrophysics at Imperial College London, is currently the most powerful telescope in space.
In contrast to its predecessor, the Hubble world space telescope, JWST specializes in grasping the infrared light that it can look through cosmic dust clouds and see objects too weak or far from other telescopes.
This ability enables him to examine the earliest moments of the universe and look back over 13.5 billion years – almost up to the Big Bang, which took place about 13.8 billion years ago.
By collecting light from the first stars and galaxies that were formed after the birth of the universe, JWST looks like a time machine and shows us what the cosmos looked like when it was only a few hundred million years old.
How does it work?
The telescope looks like a huge cosmic camera that captures light from the universe to unveiled its secrets.
It is collected by collecting infrared light with its 6.5 meter wide primary level from 18 gold -coated segments.
This mirror looks like a bucket and collects weak light from distant stars, galaxies and planets. The light is then aimed at four special instruments that analyze it.
These instruments can take pictures, disassemble light in spectra (such as a rainbow) and measure properties such as temperature or chemical composition and help to identify things like water or methane in the atmosphere of an exoplanet.
YWSTS sun protection, five layers of thin material the size of a tennis court, it keeps it cool by blocking the warmth of the sun, earth and moon – essential due to infrared observations that require very low temperatures.
Dr. Clements said: “Like every telescope, it uses its 6.5 m mirror to collect light and focus on its instruments. The instruments like the digital camera on a mobile phone, records the image and transfers this back to earth.
“JWST also has spectrometers that enable him to split the light into separate wavelengths so that the chemical and physical properties of objects can be examined.”
What are the most important discoveries?
Since its introduction, JWST has changed our understanding of the universe with the news of potential life on other planets.
One of the most remarkable moments came in July 2022 – just a few months after the start – when NASA released the first color images from JWST and showed its ability to capture the cosmos in breathtaking details.
These pictures included the Galaxy Cluster SMACS 0723, known as the first Deep field of WebB, which unveiled thousands of galaxies, some of them come from less than a billion years after the big bang.
The “Cosmic Cliffs” of the Carina Nebula emphasized the constellating regions, while the southern ring fog revealed complicated details of the gas clouds of a dying star.
Stephan’s quintet, a group of interacting galaxies, showed a massive collision of galaxies that were triggered by a trip with two million miles per hour.
In June 2023, the telescope determined organic molecules in the SPT0418-47 Galaxy, 12 billion light years away, which indicates the widespread presence of the building blocks of life in the early universe.
In May 2024, JWST identified Jades-GS-Z14-0, the most observed galaxy, which was seen only 290 million years after the big bang.
In 2024, JWST observed the most well -known black hole trigger in the ZS7 galaxy system, which appeared 740 million years after the big bang, which indicates a quick growth of the black hole in the young universe.
JWST also discovered a form of galaxy that resembles the fair of our Milky Way, which could have been in the same development phase.
JWST also learned auroral activities at Neptune this year and unveiled the rings and moons of the planet in the infrared detail.
But it is tempting that Dr. Clements believes that “the biggest days do not have to come,” due to its 10 to 20 years of life and added that it “delivers a large amount of material, with new results being coming almost every day”.
