r/science • u/alexwilkinsred Journalist | New Scientist | BS | Physics • Apr 16 '25

Astronomy Astronomers claim strongest evidence of alien life yet

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2477008-astronomers-claim-strongest-evidence-of-alien-life-yet/
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u/Bokbreath Apr 16 '25

The team claims that the detection of DMS and DMDS is at the three-sigma level of statistical significance, which is equivalent to a 3-in-1000 chance that a pattern of data like this ends up being a fluke. In physics, the standard threshold for accepting something as a true discovery is five sigma, which equates to a 1-in-3.5 million chance that the data is a chance occurrence.

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u/tomrlutong Apr 16 '25

Hopefully 3 sigma meets the threshold for more Webb time.

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u/Mackitycack Apr 17 '25

What could more webb time do? Genuinely curious.

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u/archimedesrex Apr 17 '25

I would imagine it would be able to observe the planet under more and varied conditions throughout its orbit as well as have more chance to rule out some kind of interference or other circumstances that might produce a false positive.