In fact, the life that could be – emphasis on the could be – thriving on a distant ocean-covered planet named K2-18b is likely not intelligent at all.
But that doesn't make the recent discovery any less exciting.
Astronomers at the University of Cambridge announced on April 17 that they had found the strongest evidence yet that life may exist anywhere else besides Earth. Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the researchers detected atmospheric clues hinting that microbial organisms could be living on the surface of K2-18b in the constellation Leo.
Here's everything to know about the discovery, the intriguing exoplanet itself and the ongoing search for life in the cosmos.