Theory of life on Venus just got absolutely destroyed

[Mike Wehner]

• Findings of what was thought to be phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus sparked debate over the possibility of life existing on the harsh planet.
• Now, a new research report offers an explanation that doesn't hinge on the presence of phosphine and may shoot down the entire theory that life exists on or around Venus.
• The study, which was published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, suggests that what scientists are actually seeing in Venus's atmosphere is simply sulfur dioxide, which is known to be common on Venus and would not indicate the presence of life.

The year 2020 was filled with a lot of terrible stuff, but one seemingly bright spot in the world of science came when scientists announced the discovery of what they thought was phosphine in the atmosphere of the planet Venus. Phosphine in the atmosphere could be a sign of biological processes taking place, and since the surface of Venus is little more than a toxic hellscape, it was thought that there might be airborne organisms around the planet, which would be the first discovery of extraterrestrial life ever made.

Now, after several months of additional research, it's looking increasingly likely that what the scientists thought they saw in the atmosphere of Venus wasn't actually Phosphine at all. The work, which appears in two papers published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, could be the ultimate death blow to the theory of life on Venus.

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Theory of life on Venus just got absolutely destroyed originally appeared on BGR.com on Fri, 29 Jan 2021 at 20:33:30 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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