Scientists have stunned the world with the news that life likely does exist on a faraway planet.
K2-18b – which is more than twice as big as Earth and 120 light-years away – sits within the habitable zone of its star in the Leo constellation.
According to a new University of Cambridge study, its atmosphere contains huge quantities of chemicals, which on Earth are only made by living organisms.
Planet K2-18b is a suspected a 'hycean' world – a rocky planet with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and vast oceans of water.
It's probable that K2-18b's oceans are filled with something like phytoplankton – tiny organisms that feed on the energy from the nearby star.
But what's exciting is that K2-18b is very unlikely to be a one-off in the universe – meaning many others that are similar likely exist too.
Peter Vickers, a philosophy of science professor at Durham University, said there are likely 'millions' of planets outside our galaxy hosting some kind of lifeforms.
'If it does turn out that K2-18b has life, then it is virtually guaranteed that there are million more exoplanets harbouring extraterrestrial life,' he told MailOnline.
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