Life on Venus? Intriguing molecule phosphine spotted in planet's clouds again [View all]
Last edited Sun Jul 9, 2023, 09:24 AM - Edit history (1)
By Robert Lea published 1 day ago
There's a new chapter in the Venus phosphine debate.
The Venus phosphine saga continues.
In September 2020, a team of scientists led by Jane Greaves of Cardiff University in Wales reported the detection of phosphine, a possible indicator of life, in the clouds of Venus. The announcement sparked a heated debate and a surge of follow-up studies, which have generally failed to spot the intriguing molecule in the Venusian atmosphere.
Now there's a new twist. Speaking at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting 2023 in Cardiff this week, Greaves revealed the discovery of phosphine deeper in the atmosphere of Venus than it had been spotted before. Using the James Clark Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii, Greaves and her colleagues delved into the atmosphere of Venus, down to the top and even the middle of the planet's clouds.
The team thinks that the phosphine could be coming from lower in Venus' atmosphere. But, as Greaves pointed out in the talk, the real question is, What does the phosphine mean? Could it be evidence of alien life on Venus?
Greaves said that, on Earth, phosphine is generated by microorganisms living in a very low-oxygen environment. She explained that phosphine is generally not made in other ways on our planet, as Earth lacks an abundance of "loose" hydrogen. This suggests that phosphine, if detected on other worlds, is a potential biosignature.
More:
https://www.space.com/venus-clouds-phosphine-evidence-debate
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