I’m sure by now most have heard about the discovering of phosphine on Venus. This has been the talk of the town amongst scientists because phosphine is known to only be created by living organisms. Although it may only be anaerobic bacteria, this is a fascinating discovery due to the fact many have put off any notion of life on Venus for many years. What is encouraging about this and is reason to believe there may actually be life is the amount of phosphine that is there on a daily basis. As the article states, “Phosphine is highly reactive and survives for only a short time. Its presence in Earth’s atmosphere at the level of parts per trillion suggests it must be constantly produced.” If Venus has the levels of phosphine they are suggesting, that means it is constantly being produced on Venus. Scientist's have theories that Venus can and has been sustaining life for quite some time if this is the case.
I’m not here to say we can now all of a sudden look to live on Venus. Clearly, Venus is still inhabitable for humans. But the discovery that life is supported on Venus, might open the door to theories and ideas of where else life might be. Moreover, it also begs the question for what might have come before the anaerobic phosphine producing bacteria. Maybe not much, but this discovery may at least allow us to think there was.
T. (2020, September 16). The Curious Question of Life on Venus [Web log post]. Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/the-curious-question-of-life-on-venus
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