Ars Technica reports that the persistent rumor that the James Webb Space Telescope has found a planet with strong signs of life has recently hit a new high among the scientific community. A lot of the hype may be overblown, but at the very least the speculation reflects the space telescope’s extraordinary promise in the field of exobiology.
Though a NASA official told Ars that no “definitive evidence” has been found so far, they acknowledged the possibility of a huge discovery on the horizon that — sorry, folks — would take years worth of followup research to confirm.
“It is anticipated that JWST observations may lead to the initial identification of potential biosignatures that could make habitability more or less likely for a given exoplanet,” Knicole Colón, the James Webb’s deputy project scientist for exoplanet science, told Ars. “Future missions will be needed to conclusively establish the habitability of an exoplanet.”
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It’s an answer worded to tamp down any out-of-control rumors, but it certainly leaves the door open to some exciting possibilities — a no, but “not a hard no,” in Ars’ analysis.
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