Is There Life On Venus? Signs Of Phosphine Gas On Planet Sparks Debate (image-twitter/NASA)
Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery by detecting phosphine on Venus. Though the planet is hot enough to melt metal and blanketed by a toxic, crushing atmosphere, astronomers have reported that the detection of gases such as phosphine could point to the presence of life forms on the planet.
The new discovery was presented at the national astronomy meeting in Hull on Wednesday. As per the Guardian report, a group has suggested the presence of ammonia, a gas that primarily occurs due to the result of biological activity on Earth, in the clouds above the planet’s surface.
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Another group has came claiming the trace of phosphine, yet another possible indication of life. Phosphine is a flammable, smelly gas that can be produced by some species of anaerobic bacteria living in oxygen-starved environments.
The finding led to the debate because the planet’s chemistry should destroy the chemical even before it can accumulate to the observed levels.
The research team headed by Jane Greaves from Cardiff University made the discovery with the help of the Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii to observe Venus clouds.
Though the discovery is exciting, the presence of the chemical is not conclusive proof of life. Some experts argue that the phosphine detection could be a false signal introduced by telescopes or data processing. While others have proposed alternative explanations, such as unknown atmospheric or geological processes on Venus.
A Planetary scientist at MIT and a co-author of the study emphasized that the team is “not claiming to have found life on Venus” but rather a confident detection of phosphine gas whose existence is a mystery.
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However, she hopes the findings will motivate future space missions to directly measure gases in Venus’ atmosphere and provide more definitive answers.
The idea of life in Venus’s cloud is not new as the German physicist Heinz Haber proposed the possibility of life at altitudes with mild temperatures earlier in 1950s.
