Venus’ alien surprise: Gassy clues hint at possible life in the clouds

Scientists have long dreamt of finding life beyond our planet. Venus hasn’t exactly been a strong contender, with its hostile environment. However, two new findings have scientists buzzing.

Astronomers have detected two gases in Venusian clouds that could be signs of life – phosphine and ammonia. On Earth, both phosphine and ammonia are linked to living process.

The Guardian reported that the new findings were presented by scientists at the national astronomy meeting in Hull on Wednesday, July 17.

Strong evidence of phospine

The surface of Venus is super hot around 450°C. That’s hot enough to melt common metals. The air is super thick too, 90 times thicker than Earth’s air, and the clouds are filled with sulfuric acid. But there’s a weird thing – about 50 kilometers up, it’s not quite as hot or squished, and maybe some super tough microbes could survive there.

Phosphine was first spotted on Venus in 2020, but the finding was controversial as the authors were not able to substantiate the detection.

On Earth, some microbes are the usual suspects when it comes to phosphine synthesis, mainly in oxygen-free zones. Volcanoes can also cough up a little phosphine, but it’s a measly amount.

New observations confirm its presence and even link it to the planet’s day-night cycle. Dave Clements and the team from Imperial College London conducted the observations using the James Clerk Maxwell telescope (JCMT) in Hawaii.  They used the telescope to track the presence of phosphine signatures in the Venusian clouds.

This helped to solidify the evidence that phosphine gas is indeed hanging around in the Venusian atmosphere.

“Our findings suggest that when the atmosphere is bathed in sunlight the phosphine is destroyed,” Clements told in the meeting as the Guardian reported . “All that we can say is that phosphine is there. We don’t know what’s producing it. It may be chemistry that we don’t understand. Or possibly life.”

The ammonia puzzle

Another team led by Prof Jane Greaves, an astronomer at Cardiff University, found hints of ammonia in the Venusian clouds .

This gas is also associated with life on Earth produced by bacteria that metabolize nitrogen. It is also linked to industrial processes.

Greaves mentioned in his talk that the detection is preliminary, and needs follow-up observations for confirmation.

The findings are fascinating, but they are far from conclusive evidence of life on Venus. There could be unknown chemical processes at play. Nonetheless, they warrant further investigation.

Greaves said: “Even if we confirmed both of these [findings], it is not evidence that we have found these magic microbes and they’re living there today.

The planet is an extremely hostile world because its atmosphere is filled with toxic gases. So, finding life on the planet seems next to impossible. Scientists believe life may have flourished on Venus in the distant past when the planet was more Earth-like.

However, several million years ago, it witnessed dramatic climatic shifts. Theories suggest that a runaway greenhouse effect then took hold, trapping heat and causing the Venusian atmosphere to become incredibly dense and hot.

The discoveries open fresh questions: What’s creating these gases? Could these gases be lingering remnants of that ancient life?

Perhaps, future NASA missions, VERITAS and DAVINCI, could help in finding some direct evidence.