Could Venus’ atmosphere harbor traces of life? New discoveries reignite the debate. At a recent astronomy conference in the UK, scientists announced that they had detected traces of ammonia in the clouds that envelop the boiling planet. On Earth, this gas is mainly produced by biological activity.
Another team has instead presented new evidence to support the presence of phosphinea compound already identified in 2020 and considered a possible indicator of life. This discovery had sparked a heated debate in the scientific community.
A hellish planet with a different past?
Although Venus is known for its extreme temperatures and dense atmosphere, some researchers hypothesize that in a distant past the planet may have gone through a phase more favorable to life.
Dr Dave Clements of Imperial College London suggests: “If Venus had a warm and humid period in the past, when global warming began, life may have adapted to the only remaining habitable environment: the clouds.“.
The clouds of Venus at 50 km altitude present conditions similar to Earth.
In fact, while the surface of Venus is hot enough to melt lead, the clouds at about 50 km altitude have much more lenient temperatures and pressuresnot unlike those on Earth.
The Mystery of Phosphine
Phosphine is considered a potential “biosignal” because it is produced mainly by bacteria in oxygen-free environments on Earth. However, its actual presence on Venus is still a matter of debate.
In 2020, a team led by Jane Greaves of Cardiff University announced the discovery of significant amounts of phosphine, sparking great interest. Other researchers later questioned these findings.
Professor Greaves and her colleagues continued to study the phenomenon, using the James Clerk Maxwell telescope in Hawaii. “Our results suggest that when the atmosphere is exposed to sunlight, phosphine is destroyed.“, Greaves explained. “All we can say is that phosphine is present. We don’t know what produces it..”
Future perspectives
Scientists are cautious in interpreting these data as definitive evidence of life on Venus. Further research is needed to fully understand these phenomena.
Fortunately, new space missions may provide more concrete answers. The European Space Agency recently approved the Envision mission, designed to study the inner and outer atmospheres of Venus.
Source: www.tomshw.it
