Phosphine, which could signify the presence of life in the atmosphere of Venus, has already been recorded five times. Its concentration varies slightly and its source may be in the clouds. About it at the National Astronomical Conference in Britain said scientists who, in 2020, announced for the first time the discovery of a possible marker of life on this planet.
In September 2020, a group of British astronomers stirred up the scientific community, saying on the discovery of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus. Since in terrestrial conditions this phosphorus compound is produced only by microorganisms or synthesized in the laboratory, its discovery has given rise to many hypotheses about the presence in the atmosphere of the planet of microorganisms that l emit. The then head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, responded to this news by offering to send an additional mission to Venus.
Since then, the living organisms hypothesis has been repeatedly questioned, as has the very discovery of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus. Now the author of the original discovery, Professor Jane Greaves of Cardiff University, has not only confirmed the earlier data, but also said that phosphine is found in much lower layers of the atmosphere.
ESA/AOES
“We’ve come a long way since getting the first data in 2017,” Greaves told IFL Science. “So far we have observed the phosphine five times and can already see how it behaves. It is therefore no longer a question of finding it, but of knowing how it evolves over time and what that may mean.”
The latest observations were made with the James Clark Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii. They showed that phosphine is present not only in the upper atmosphere, but also in the upper part of the clouds. This indicates that the phosphine source may be at or below the cloud level. “It’s really interesting because the clouds are an interesting place because there’s a possibility, and it’s a bold hypothesis, that there could be some kind of living organisms out there,” he said. ‘astronomer.
According to the scientists, another factor argues in favor of the biogenic origin of phosphine. Observations have shown that the phosphine concentration does not change as much over time as the sulfur dioxide content associated with volcanic activity on Venus, which can vary from year to year. “It seems that the phosphine can at most double or halve. It doesn’t change much, and I think that’s important in the context of interpretations,” Greaves concluded.
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