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Scientists have discovered a rare molecule in the clouds of Venus, suggesting that colonies of living microbes could thrive in an oxygen-free environment high up in the planet’s atmosphere.
While the surface of Venus is too hot to support life, with an average temperature of around 464 ° C (867 ° F), astronomers have speculated that life could survive high in the planet’s atmosphere, where conditions are much more moderate.
Now, an international team of astronomers led by Professor Jane Greaves of Cardiff The university has announced the discovery of phosphine gas in these high clouds, a molecule produced on Earth by microbes living in similar oxygen-free environments.
Phosphine molecules have been detected in the clouds of Venus. Photo: ESO
Phosphine molecules, consisting of hydrogen and phosphorous atoms, were first detected from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) near the top of Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
“This was an experiment done out of sheer curiosity, actually taking advantage of the powerful technology of the JCMT,” said Professor Greaves, who led the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
“I thought we could rule out extreme situations, like clouds full of organisms. When we got the first hints of phosphine in the Venus spectrum, it was a shock!”
After confirming the presence of phosphine, the international team of astronomers performed a series of calculations to see where it might have come from.
They warn that natural processes cannot be ruled out due to a lack of information on the prevalence of phosphorus on Venus.
But the work of Dr. William Bains on the Massachusetts The Institute of Technology on Natural Ways to Produce Phosphine found that there was no way to produce the amount detected in the atmosphere of Venus.
To create the observed amount of phosphine on Venus, organisms on Earth would only have to produce gas at about 10% of its maximum productivity, according to calculations by Dr. Paul Rimmer of the University of Cambridge.
Venus was observed from the JCMT in Hawaii. Photo: Will Montgomerie
However, microbial life on Venus is expected to be very different from that on Earth, as it would need to survive in the hyperacid conditions of the planet’s clouds, made almost entirely of sulfuric acid.
On Earth, bacteria produce phosphine gas after absorbing phosphate minerals and adding hydrogen to it. This process is curious, as it costs bacteria energy rather than giving it to them, so the evolutionary purpose of the process is unclear.
Some scientists believe that phosphine is just a waste product of another process, while some believe that it could serve an alternate purpose, such as driving away rivals.
The discovery offers a potential explanation for the mysterious dark streaks on the surface of Venus, detected by the Japanese space agency JAXA, that strangely absorb ultraviolet light.
Venus is covered in clouds of sulfuric acid. Photo: JAXA
These dark streaks could be colonies of microbes, surviving the comfortable 86 ° F (30 ° C) temperature of high clouds, even though the clouds themselves are incredibly acidic, made of about 90% sulfuric acid.
Professor Emma Bunce, president of the Royal Astronomical Society, congratulated the team on their work and requested a new mission to Venus to investigate their findings.
“A key question in science is whether life exists beyond Earth, and the discovery by Professor Jane Greaves and her team is a key step in that search,” said Professor Bunce.
“I am particularly delighted to see UK scientists leading such an important breakthrough, something that makes a strong case for a space mission back to Venus.”
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