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The discovery, in the acidic clouds of Venus, of a gas linked to the existence of life, phosphine, is perhaps the most important event in the search for extraterrestrial life, according to NASA.
The director of the US space agency welcomed this scientific discovery, noting that he now wants to prioritize the study of Aphrodite, who had been “neglected” since all eyes were on Mars.
“Life in Aphrodite?” The discovery of phosphine, a product of anaerobic biology, is by far the most important milestone in the search for extraterrestrial life, “Jim Bridenstein wrote on Twitter.
The study on the discovery of phosphine in Aphrodite was published today in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy.
The existence of extraterrestrial life has long been one of the key questions for scientists using robotic spacecraft and telescopes to search for “biosignatures” (indirect signs of life) on other planets and moons in our solar system and beyond.
“With what we know about Venus today, the most plausible explanation for the existence of phosphine is, unrealistic as it may sound, the existence of life on the planet,” said MIT astrophysicist Clara Sousa-Silva.
“I must emphasize that life, as an explanation for our discovery, must be, as always, the ultimate explanation. This is important because if it is phosphine and it is life, it means that we are not alone. “It also means that life itself must be very common and that there must be many other inhabited planets in our galaxy.”
Phosphine is an inorganic chemical compound of phosphorus and hydrogen, highly toxic to humans.
Telescopes, like the ones used in this study, help scientists study the chemical composition and other properties of celestial bodies.
For the presence of phosphine in Aphrodite’s atmosphere, Grevis and his colleagues looked at the possibility that it comes from other non-biological sources, such as volcanoes, meteorites, lightning bolts, and other chemical reactions. But neither explanation seemed logical. Research is underway to confirm the existence of life or to find an alternative explanation.
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