Mysterious gases on Venus: a clue to the possibility of life

The detection of phosphine and ammonia in the atmosphere of Venus may indicate the presence of life forms. The Guardian reported this.

In 2020, a team of researchers announced the discovery of phosphine in the clouds of Venus, but the discovery caused controversy after subsequent observations failed to confirm their findings. However, scientists have now provided further evidence of the presence of phosphine and discovered ammonia in the planet’s atmosphere.

“We performed the observations three times and got 140 times more data than the first study. The information we have now indicates another discovery of phosphine,” said Dave Clements, lecturer in astrophysics at Imperial College London.

Professor Jane Greaves’ team from Cardiff University suggests that other researchers have failed to find the phosphine due to different observation times.

“It turns out that all of our observations that detected phosphine were made when the atmosphere of Venus was changing from night to day, and all of the observations that didn’t detect phosphine were made when the atmosphere was changing from day until night,” commented Dave Clements.

Clements also noted that the sun’s ultraviolet rays can break down phosphine molecules in the upper atmosphere of Venus during the sun, making them difficult to detect.

However, these findings should not be considered definitive proof of the existence of life on Venus. The team does not claim to have discovered life on the planet.

“Even if we confirm these two [вывода]”It’s not going to be proof that we found these ‘magic microbes’ and they’re living there now,” said Professor Jane Greaves from Cardiff University.

It was previously reported that the NASA Space Center has completed an experiment to simulate life on a station on the surface of Mars.