Yesterday's announcement of the detection of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus suggests that there may be life there. The late Carl Sagan pointed out that high in the planet's atmosphere the temperature and pressure are much lower than on the surface, where conditions are very harsh indeed.
Professor Jane Greaves of Cardiff University led the team which looked at the microwave spectrum of the atmosphere, searching for the absorption characteristic of phosphine (PH3) as this is only produced in Earth by certain bacteria and by human activity. Absorption at the right wavelength was detected by astronomers working at two separate radio telescopes. The amount of the gas was very small, but much larger than was predicted by any inorganic mechanism that they could envisage.
I am sure that this result came as a great surprise to exobiologists. Mars, Titan and Enceledus have been thought to be the most likely places to find extraterrestrial life in our Solar System and no-one else had really considered Sagan's suggestion about Venus.
I am sure that today many sceptical scientists are scrutinising the details of the team's paper and thinking up experiments to confirm or overturn the report Phosphine gas in the cloud decks of Venus | Nature Astronomy
I expect that alternative suggestions will appear soon. Time will tell whether this result will be generally accepted: if so the space agencies will have to consider sending spacecraft into the atmosphere of Venus.
It is just possible that in 20 years time, a zoo or a science museum may exhibit a jar containing microscopic Venusian creatures.
Professor Jane Greaves of Cardiff University led the team which looked at the microwave spectrum of the atmosphere, searching for the absorption characteristic of phosphine (PH3) as this is only produced in Earth by certain bacteria and by human activity. Absorption at the right wavelength was detected by astronomers working at two separate radio telescopes. The amount of the gas was very small, but much larger than was predicted by any inorganic mechanism that they could envisage.
I am sure that this result came as a great surprise to exobiologists. Mars, Titan and Enceledus have been thought to be the most likely places to find extraterrestrial life in our Solar System and no-one else had really considered Sagan's suggestion about Venus.
I am sure that today many sceptical scientists are scrutinising the details of the team's paper and thinking up experiments to confirm or overturn the report Phosphine gas in the cloud decks of Venus | Nature Astronomy
I expect that alternative suggestions will appear soon. Time will tell whether this result will be generally accepted: if so the space agencies will have to consider sending spacecraft into the atmosphere of Venus.
It is just possible that in 20 years time, a zoo or a science museum may exhibit a jar containing microscopic Venusian creatures.
almost like something from an old episode of Star trek or the Twilight Zone.
