another-explanation-fo-2

This figure from the research helps explain the findings. Each panel is a separate model compared to the JWST’s NIRSpec and Single Object Slitless Spectroscopy observations. JWST data rules out the lifeless hycean world model because it doesn’t have enough methane. The inhabited hycean model and the mini-Neptune model fit the JWST data better, but invoking a biotic source for the planet’s methane is too much of a reach for the authors. Instead, they’ve settled on the mini-Neptune model as the best fit. Credit: Wogan et al, 2024