Updated: September 14, 2020 9:46:07 pm
The presence of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus is something that was not expected and is “inexplicable. (Source: European Southern Observatory)
An international team of astronomers has announced the discovery of phosphine gas in the atmosphere of Venus, causing enthusiasm for the possibility of the presence of life forms on that planet.
In addition to being produced in industrial processes, phosphine, a colorless and malodorous gas, is known to be produced only by some species of bacteria that survive in the absence of oxygen. The presence of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus is something that was not expected and is “inexplicable”. Any phosphorous presence in that atmosphere was expected to be in oxidized forms.
In a paper published in Nature Astronomy, a team of scientists reported trace amounts of phosphine at a concentration of about 20 parts per billion. Scientists have been careful to emphasize that, as of now, this is not a confirmation of the presence of life on Venus. It could be produced by natural processes of which, until now, we are not aware.
“PH3 (phosphene) could originate from an unknown photochemistry or geochemistry or, by analogy with the biological production of PH3 on earth, from the presence of life.”
But as Professor Sara Seager of the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who is one of the authors of the study, this discovery had lifted Venus “further up the ladder of interesting targets” where the possible presence of life forms can be explored.
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