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Scientists say they have detected a gas called phosphine in the acidic clouds of Venus, which indicates that microbes may inhabit the inhospitable planet.
Research continues to confirm the presence of life or find an alternative explanation.
Photo: AFP / Sciepro / Science Photo Library
The researchers did not discover actual life forms, but pointed out that on earth, phosphine is produced by bacteria that thrive in oxygen-free environments.
The international scientific team first detected phosphine using the James Clerk Maxwell telescope in Hawaii and confirmed it using the Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope in Chile.
“I was very surprised, actually surprised,” said astronomer Jane Greaves of Cardiff University in Wales, lead author of the research published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
The existence of extraterrestrial life has long been one of the fundamental questions of science.
Scientists have used probes and telescopes to search for “biosignatures,” indirect signs of life, on other planets and moons in our solar system and beyond.
“With what we currently know of Venus, the most plausible explanation for phosphine, fantastic as it may sound, is life,” said molecular astrophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and study co-author Clara Sousa-Silva.
“I must emphasize that life, as an explanation for our discovery, should be, as always, the last resort,” added Sousa-Silva.
“This is important because if it is phosphine, and if it is life, it means that we are not alone. It also means that life itself must be very common and there must be many other inhabited planets throughout our galaxy.”
Phosphine, a phosphorous atom with three hydrogen atoms attached to it, is highly toxic to people.
Ground-based telescopes like the ones used in this research help scientists study the chemistry and other characteristics of celestial objects.
Phosphine was observed at 20 parts per billion in the atmosphere of Venus, a minimal concentration.
Greaves said the researchers examined potential non-biological sources such as volcanism, meteorites, lightning strikes and various types of chemical reactions, but none seemed viable.
Research continues to confirm the presence of life or find an alternative explanation.
– Reuters
