A multi-national group of scientists have detected possible evidence of alien life on the planet Venus.
By Mario Speedwagon
An international team of researchers have detected “biosignatures” of the presence of life in the form of phosphine, a rare and toxic gas, within the atmosphere of our neighboring planet Venus. The presence of this phosphine can suggest that the planet may be host to life forms. Phosphine is a ratchet smelling gas associated with rotting fish, pond slime, penguin dung, and anarcho-communists in Austin, TX. It is also sometimes indicative of the presence of anaerobic organisms — in this case ‘aliens.’
To be clear, phosphine is not a direct indicator of alien life on the planet. However, the volume-metrics of phosphine have not been demonstrated to occur through any other process. This anomaly has led researchers to theorize the presence of alien life forms within the Milky Way.
The presence of phosphine constitutes a “biosignature”– indication of life. Researchers have concluded that the surface of Venus is hot and acidic and unsuitable for the habitation of life forms. However, the environment in its ‘upper cloud decks’ are hypothesized to be less hostile to the presence of life. This is roughly 35 miles up where the conditions are more tolerable. Hence, if there are indeed life-forms on Venus, they are a species that lives in the clouds. Wicked. This is where phosphine is theorized to exist.
An multinational team of scientists led by Jane Greaves from Cardiff University reported the conclusions today in the article, ‘Phosphine gas in the cloud decks of Venus‘ published in Nature Astronomy.
The scientists warn that this is not conclusive evidence for the presence of life on Venus yet it is not ruled out.
“Either phosphine is produced by some sort of chemical or geological process that no-one knows about – or there could be a biological reason,” reported contributing astrophysicist Emily Drabek-Maunder from the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Imperial College London scientist David Clements characterized the report with the same inconclusive nature: “This isn’t a smoking gun,” he said. “This isn’t even gunshot residue on the prime suspect’s hands. But there is a distinct smell of cordite in the room. It’s a step on the way to potentially the discovery of life of some kind in the upper atmosphere of Venus. But we have many, many more steps to go before we can say there’s life on Venus.”
Open University astronomer Helen Fraser was jubilant yet cautious in her description. Though she reported a “butterflies win our stomach moment,” she later cautioned, “It’s a possible sign of life. But the scientist in me becomes very cautious, and says that what we’ve discovered is phosphine.”
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