Life on K2-18?

September 12, 2023

How exciting that a sign of life may potentially have been discovered on a distant planet, especially after last year’s thrill over phosphine on Venus turned out to be a damp squib. And what a feat for science to be able to spot (or maybe spot) an organic molecule on a planet that’s 120 light years (1.1 million billion miles) away.

Who but a terminal cynic could be indifferent to discovering life in the cosmos, even though there is zero chance of us ever visiting it? Mind you, the cynic might point out a certain irony in that capitalism spends a fortune looking for life on other planets, while simultaneously doing its best to obliterate life on this one.