Nikku Madhusudhan: University of Cambridge Professor of Astrophysics and Exoplanetary Science on the possible signs of life on a distant exo-planet
Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive · Newstalk ZB
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (pdst.fm) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
One Cambridge scientist may have gotten us one step closer to discovering life on other planets.
Professor Nikku Madhusudhan came across dimethyl sulphide gas on planet K2-18b during a routine scan - a gas mainly produced by living things.
He says the planet is suspected to be an ocean world with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, meaning the gas could come from microorganisms.
"Any discovery of life outside of any kind is a major advancement, because that tells us that the origin of life is not unique to Earth. And that is one of the central questions of science."
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.