While Venus has long been ignored as a potential home for alien existence, MIT researchers say that the skies of Venus may be hosting aerial extraterrestrial life.
Phosphine Found
The Space Academy reports that, in the pursuit of extraterrestrial intelligence, Venus has hardly been considered. The reason behind such discarding is quite reasonable, given that the surface temperature of the planet reaches over 800 degrees Fahrenheit. Moreover, the density of its atmosphere adds pressure that is close to a hundred times greater than that of the earth's. Venus also precipitates sulfuric acids, which may cause serious burns among humans.
While scientists have been looking for extraterrestrial life signs on Mars or other moons, such as Enceladus, Venus could be home to extraterrestrial intelligence.
A study included in Nature Astronomy reveals that the atmosphere on Venus could be holding great quantities of phosphine, a chemical that is established to be a byproduct of existence.
However, this is not conclusive evidence. Phosphine may result from inorganic procedures, such as interactions that involve surface materials, lightning, volcanic activity, or sunlight.
The researchers considered such possibilities and came up with digital models to examine if Venusian phosphine production could be simulated. The results generated small phosphine amounts. However, they did not come close to the observations found in Venusian clouds.
Hence, scientists do not exactly know the mechanisms behind phosphine production. Extraterrestrial life is just one of the potential explanations.
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Life on Venus
Per MIT News, researcher Clara Sousa-Silva states that biomolecules have been technically spotted before in the planet's atmosphere. However, such molecules could be linked to a thousand different things aside from extraterrestrial existence. What makes phosphine special, however, is that it is very difficult for the chemical to occur without life in rocky terrain. Among other planets, the Earth is the only terrestrial one where phosphine has been found. This is clearly because there is life on earth.
Things changed, however, with the discovery of phosphine in the Venusian atmosphere.
Sousa-Silva also notes that, in the past, Venus was thought to harbor oceans and be a habitable terrain that mirrored Earth. However, as the conditions on the planet became less hospitable, it may have been difficult for alien life to adapt to such changes. They could be on a narrow path to survival. Such possibilities may indicate that even a planet that is at the tip of the habitable zone may harbor a habitable atmosphere.
The team took various scenarios into consideration but later concluded that the chemical's presence may only be explained by extraterrestrial life. Sousa-Silva also states that astronomers will also be looking into potential justifications and explanations aside from the presence of extraterrestrial intelligence. This is something that is welcomed.
This means that phosphine could be present due to life or other chemical or physical processes that are not expected to take place in rocky terrain. The researchers are hopeful that they can verify these findings with further observations.
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