There may be strange life in Venus’ thick atmosphere after astronomers discovered phosphine, reigniting ambitious ideas for a human colony floating in the planet’s clouds.
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The extraordinary likelihood of living organisms swimming in the dense atmosphere of Venus was enhanced after scientists discovered bewildering levels of phosphine, a vital signature of life. “Phosphine on Venus cannot be explained by conventional processes”, the paper described the discovery of a chemical marker of life in Venus’ atmosphere.
The opening lines of the paper stated: “The recent detection of 20 parts per billion of phosphine in the middle atmosphere of Venus is so unexpected that it requires a comprehensive search for explanations for its origin.”
The paper added that there are “no normal pathways for phosphine production sufficient to explain the presence of phosphine levels in a molecule per billion in Venus.”
Speaking to the British newspaper “Express”, Dr. Souza Silva of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said: “We know one way in which phosphine can be produced in clouds, and that is life. Of course, this is an unusual claim, and therefore requires extraordinary evidence, which is … What we don’t have. “
“But to better understand Venus, there is only one explanation left,” she added. Explaining that the closest physical explanation for the presence of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus can be explained by the intense volcanoes coming from the planet’s surface.
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However, Dr Silva emphasized that the amount of gas produced from volcanoes on the planet’s surface would be very weak and did not explain the “abundance of phosphine” that recent data estimated.
Astronomers used data from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, known as the Alma Observatory (ALMA), and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) in Hawaii to make a puzzling discovery.
Phosphine is produced in these quantities on Earth in two ways, one through industrial processes such as emissions from factories, and the other from microbial life, such as organisms that thrive in the stomachs of penguins or in swamps that thirst for oxygen.
These two explanations only exacerbate Venus’ “phosphine puzzle” that the latest results present.
Dr Clara Souza Silva of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said the discovery of phosphine on the planet was a reason for more effort in searching for the anomalies of the planet.
“Venus has been overlooked in past decades. Planet clouds could be a more interesting target for living than Mars,” she added.
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At a certain altitude in the atmosphere of Venus, temperatures and pressures sympathize with human life, albeit without oxygen.
This prompted scientists to suggest floating cities in the planet’s clouds. The concept would see human habitats powered by huge helium-filled balloons float 30 miles above the inferno-like surface of Venus.
And NASA developed plans for such an idea, called the operational concept of the high altitude of Venus.
And one of the advantages that a Venus colony could have on Mars is that the clouds of the planet would protect humans from the dangers of space radiation.
Also, the gravity on Venus is close to the force of gravity on Earth, which means that this will cause a very slight deterioration in the muscles and bones of the colonists.
But astronauts will never be able to reach land on the planet because the surface is hot enough to melt the lead.
Source: Express
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