2023-07-10 02:24:07
Monday July 10, 2023 04:24 AM Monday, July 10, 2023 04:24 AM A team of scientists led by Jane Greaves from Cardiff University in Wales reported the discovery, for the first time in September 2020, of phosphine, a potential indicator of life, in the clouds of Venus. Debate and a rush of follow-up studies, which generally fail to detect the molecule of interest in Venus’ atmosphere. But during the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting 2023 in Cardiff this week, according to Space, Graves revealed that phosphine had been discovered deeper in Venus’s atmosphere than previously observed. Using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii, Graves and her colleagues have plunged into Venus’ atmosphere up to the middle of the planet’s clouds. The team thinks that phosphine might be coming from lower in Venus’ atmosphere, but as Graves points out in the talk, the real question is, what does phosphine mean? Could it be evidence of alien life on Venus? Graves said that phosphine is produced on Earth by microorganisms that live in a very low oxygen environment. Detecting it on other worlds is a possible biosignature. That’s why the supposed discovery of Venusian phosphine caused such a stir three years ago, and the idea of life on Earth’s “sister planet” isn’t as far away as you might think, while the surface of Venus is incredibly inhospitable, with temperatures reaching around 900 degrees. Fahrenheit (475 degrees Celsius), and conditions regarding 30 miles (50 kilometers) in clouds are much milder and Earth-like. Source: Technology News: Life on Venus.. The phosphine molecule was detected in the planet’s clouds once more. Related news:
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