Posted on 09/14/2020 5:55:18 PM PDT by bitt
Researchers have discovered the molecule phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus.
The molecule indicates that life may exist in the acidic clouds high above our sister planet.
The discovery of phosphine in the Venusian atmosphere could signal a rejuvenated interest in the planet, which has long been ignored in favor of other locales in the solar system.
A mystery lurks in the clouds high above the stifling surface of our nearest planetary neighbor, Venus. Researchers have announced they've found traces of phosphine, a molecule potentially generated by living things, in the planet's clouds.
Planetary scientists have long speculated that Venus's cloudy atmosphere could harbor life. The surface of Venus is inhospitable, with surface temperatures exceeding 800 degrees Fahrenheit. No probe sent to the planet—and there have been several—has survived for longer than a few hours. But the planet's atmosphere, which is composed of plush layers of sulfuric acid clouds, may present a unique cradle for burgeoning lifeforms.
"We know that the molecule phosphine is a biomarker on Earth," astronomer Jane Greave, of Cardiff University in Wales, said in a pre-recorded statement released by the Royal Astronomical Society. "It's been suggested that there are possible habitats in the cloud decks of Venus, so somewhere where little lifeforms could live."
To be clear, this latest discovery doesn't explicitly confirm the existence of life on another world, but it's the closest we've ever come. The researchers, who published their findings today in the journals Nature Astronomy and Astrobiology, say the only explanations for the molecule are it's either being produced by a living thing, or it's generated through some chemical process currently unknown to science.
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
“Acid Creatures From Planet Venus” - if that isn’t a 50’s horror movie it ought to be.
May exist or could exist??
A fool’s errand.
Maybe it isn't too late to revive the name Herschel.
NASA up for funding again.
More frost again?
LOL....too bad they couldn’t get that third eye to blink.
THAT would’ve been even more freaky.
More Dem voters. Will they stop at nothing?
I hope that they are not Democrats. Their mail in vote will kill us.
The one I saw had oval windows & a vinyl top.
Anyone remember the books published in the 1950s, about a man who talked with a visitor from Venus? The visitor landed in a flying saucer.
The writer had a camera with him and conveniently “forgot” to take photos till the visitor was leaving.
That was before it was found Venus had a hostile atmosphere. At that time it was still believed there were irrigation canals on Mars.
"William Herschel, who discovered the seventh planet, wanted to name it after George III--Georgium Sidus ("George's Star"). Some wanted to name it Herschel. Maybe it isn't too late to revive the name Herschel."
Heck, I've heard of people being abducted by Venusians, Martians, and even Saturnians. No, really! :-)
Do a search on "Howard Menger" and you'll see what I mean.
Another virus? Venus 19 ?
I remember seeing that movie at a drive in in Denver Colorado way back in 1953!
ABBOT AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS! But they never got to Mars. New Orleans at Marti grass, then Venus. And the Statue of Liberty had to duck the missile!
At 74 I can still remember well! Now what did I do yesterday....?
“A night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury.”
That sounds a lot like George Adamski, who was one of the first "contactees", & was big in the 1950s.
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