Possible signs of life on Venus surprise scientists: ‘They shouldn’t be there’
This will take your breath away.
New research on elements found in the gaseous clouds of Venus could be a sign of life for what was thought to be an uninhabitable planet.
The skies of the scorching second planet from the sun consist of caustic sulfuric acid, damning any chance for life. Or so was previously thought.
Now, scientists, building on a discovery of the phosphine in its clouds four years ago, believe that the presence of that gas and the chemical ammonia might change what we know about possible life on the planet.
“By all normal expectations, they shouldn’t be there,” researcher and astrophysics expert Dave Clements of the Imperial College London told CNN.
“Phosphine and ammonia have both been suggested as biomarkers, including on exoplanets. So finding them in the atmosphere of Venus is interesting on that basis as well.”
The findings of ammonia on Venus — referred to by some experts as Earth’s “evil twin” — are “arguably” even more critical for the discovery of life, according to Clements.
“We’re a long way from saying this, but if there is life on Venus producing phosphine, we have no idea why it’s producing it,” he said.
“However, if there is life on Venus producing ammonia, we do have an idea why it might be wanting to breathe ammonia.”
The short answer is that if ammonia is present in the sulfur dioxide-filled droplets that make up the clouds, it could filter out enough acidity for bacterial life to survive, which would be its “functional purpose,” Clements explained.
When findings were presented earlier in the month at the Royal Astronomical Society, Cardiff Astronomy professor Jane Greaves said it would be “exciting” to find out if microbial life is making the two fixtures.
“That would be a neat way for it to regulate its own environment,” she said.
“It would make its environment much less acidic and much more survivable, to the point it’s only as acidic as some of the most extreme places on Earth — so not completely crazy.”
