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Near a planet far, far away, astronomers have found traces of chemicals that on Earth are only produced by living beings.Astronomers have found the clearest evidence yet that life might exist beyond the solar system, from the atmosphere of a planet 124 light years away from Earth, setting off rare excitement – tinged with caution – in the global scientific community.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers led by astronomers at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have found chemical signatures of two compounds that on Earth are only produced by living creatures.“These are the first hints we are seeing of an alien world that is possibly inhabited,” Nikku Madhusudhan, an astronomy professor at Cambridge and the lead researcher behind the discovery, told reporters at a media briefing on April 15. “This is a revolutionary moment.”So where is the planet that might possibly host life, what evidence have scientists found, and is there reason for scepticism?
Where did the scientists find this evidence?The researchers relied on data captured by NASA’s James Webb telescope, which was carried into outer space in 2022, and sits about 1.5 million kilometres (930,000 miles) away from Earth, as humanity’s watchtower peering into the universe.
They focused on one particular planet, K2-18b, because it had already shown promising signs as a candidate extraterrestrial body with conditions similar to those on Earth.
K2-18b lies in a constellation called Leo, and is so far away from Earth that a spaceship would need to travel for 124 years at the speed of light to get there. In reality, it would take much, much longer since the laws of physics don’t allow anything other than light to travel that fast.Israel sold $61.7bn worth of goods in 2024. The biggest importers of Israeli products were the United States with $17.3bn, Ireland with $3.2bn and China with $2.8bn. Hong Kong, a semiautonomous region of China that trade databases treat as a separate entity, imported an additional $2bn in products from Israel. Add that to China’s tally, and the country becomes the second-largest importer of Israeli products.
The table below shows the 117 countries or territories that bought Israeli products in 2024. Search for any country using the search box.Which countries sell the most to Israel?
Israel bought $91.5bn worth of goods from around the world in 2024. The biggest exporters to Israel were China with $19bn, the United States with $9.4bn, and Germany with $5.6bn.The table below shows the 192 countries or territories that sold products to Israel in 2024.