A team of scientists has detected phosphine at deeper level in Venus’ atmosphere than before using the James Clark Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) at Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii.
Key points
- In September 2020, a team of scientists led by Jane Greaves of Cardiff University in Wales has reported the detection of phosphine, a possible indicator of life, in the clouds of Venus. But now they have gone a deeper.
- The team thinks that the phosphine could be coming from lower in Venus’ atmosphere.
- On Earth, phosphine is generated by microorganisms living in a very low-oxygen environment. Phosphine is generally not made in other ways on our planet, as Earth lacks an abundance of “loose” hydrogen. This suggests that phosphine, if detected on other worlds, is a potential biosignature.
- hat’s why the putative Venus phosphine find caused such a stir three years ago.
- While Venus’ surface is incredibly inhospitable, reaching temperatures around 900 degrees Fahrenheit (475 degrees Celsius), conditions about 30 miles (50 kilometers) up in the clouds are much more temperate and Earth-like.
- However, even if there is phosphine in the Venusian atmosphere, it doesn’t necessarily mean the planet hosts life. Abiotic processes, some of which we don’t fully understand, could also be generating the stuff on Venus.
