Poll of the Day > Phosphine discovered in atmosphere of Venus; indicates possibility of life

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/science/venus-life-clouds.html

High in the toxic atmosphere of the planet Venus, astronomers on Earth have discovered signs of what might be life.
If the discovery is confirmed by additional telescope observations and future space missions, it could turn the gaze of scientists toward one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Venus, named after the Roman goddess of beauty, roasts at temperatures of hundreds of degrees and is cloaked by clouds that contain droplets of corrosive sulfuric acid. Few have focused on the rocky planet as a habitat for something living.
Instead, for decades, scientists have sought signs of life elsewhere, usually peering outward to Mars and more recently at Europa, Enceladus and other icy moons of the giant planets.
The astronomers, who reported the finding on Monday in a pair of papers, have not collected specimens of Venusian microbes, nor have they snapped any pictures of them. But with powerful telescopes, they have detected a chemical phosphine in the thick Venus atmosphere. After much analysis, the scientists assert that something now alive is the only explanation for the chemicals source.

Some researchers question this hypothesis, and they suggest instead that the gas could result from unexplained atmospheric or geologic processes on a planet that remains mysterious. But the finding will also encourage some planetary scientists to ask whether humanity has overlooked a planet that may have once been more Earthlike than any other world in our solar system.

Big if true. This and the reveal for the next Civ packs for Civ 6 makes my day

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Far more likely that it's a geological process. Venus is volcanic, and phosphine was initially discovered by heating phosphorus with potash. It's not a stretch to assume that's what happened.

It would be awesome if they found Venus had life. I always found that a more interesting idea than Mars having life.

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That would be crazy since Venus is extremely hostile even compared to Mars. The latter seems fairly sedate but compared to Earth even Mars is very inhospitable. Venus is a nightmare. We don't know how good we have it here.

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MeteoricBurst posted...

That would be crazy since Venus is extremely hostile even compared to Mars. The latter seems fairly sedate but compared to Earth even Mars is very inhospitable. Venus is a nightmare. We don't know how good we have it here.

The idea is that the upper Venusian atmosphere is hospitable, and the fact that oxygen is lighter than the surrounding gas, you could create a floating habitat.

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joemodda posted...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/science/venus-life-clouds.html

Big if true. This and the reveal for the next Civ packs for Civ 6 makes my day

I doubt it's life. What reveal?
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faramir77 posted...

Far more likely that it's a geological process. Venus is volcanic, and phosphine was initially discovered by heating phosphorus with potash. It's not a stretch to assume that's what happened.

It would be awesome if they found Venus had life. I always found that a more interesting idea than Mars having life.

I did some reading up on phosphine after seeing this article and it isn't a product of biological reactions, but chemical ones.

In all likelyhood, solar flares expel plasma containing heavier elements (sun farts) then orbiting objects (planets) collect them and they interact in gaseous/liquid/ solid phases creating things like phospine. But the energy of all that is still the energy that makes us.

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SunWuKung420 posted...

it isn't a product of biological reactions, but chemical ones.

Didn't you work in a bio/chem lab? You should know better than to say things like that.

faramir77 posted...

Far more likely that it's a geological process. Venus is volcanic, and phosphine was initially discovered by heating phosphorus with potash. It's not a stretch to assume that's what happened.

From what I was reading, there are plenty of non-biological explanations for the simple presence of phosphine, but none of them could account for the quantities found, nor for the fact that the amount remained pretty constant (it would normally deplete over time, so remaining constant means it's constantly being replenished, which most other explanations wouldn't cover). Presuming that it's life is obviously jumping to conclusions, but by the sounds of things, it is actually a more plausible explanation than most others would be, which is wild.

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adjl posted...

Didn't you work in a bio/chem lab? You should know better than to say things like that.

While they are seemingly integral to what we refer to as the organic matter cycle that doesn't mean they are solely a biological product.

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SunWuKung420 posted...

While they are seemingly integral to what we refer to as the organic matter cycle that doesn't mean they are solely a biological product.

They aren't, but that doesn't mean "they're chemical, not biological" is something anyone with a basic understanding of the fact that biochem exists should be saying.

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So it is a biological product?
Or it isn't?
Or is it both?

Would you say that... saying that it isn't a biological reaction, is a bad phrase and you shouldn't do that?

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adjl posted...

They aren't, but that doesn't mean "they're chemical, not biological" is something anyone with a basic understanding of the fact that biochem exists should be saying.

Life exists around deep sea sulfur vents. Maybe some microbe cloud is floating around Venus making phospine. That's a cool idea.

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SunWuKung420 posted...

Maybe some microbe cloud is floating around Venus making phospine.

That's exactly what the hypothesis is.

shadowsword87 posted...

So it is a biological product?
Or it isn't?
Or is it both?

Would you say that... saying that it isn't a biological reaction, is a bad phrase and you shouldn't do that?

What he's trying to say is that biological processes are not the only possible explanation for this observation, just phrased really awkwardly because he's himself.

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adjl posted...

What he's trying to say is that biological processes are not the only possible explanation for this observation, just phrased really awkwardly because he's himself.

Oh I know, I was saying that.

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faramir77 posted...

Far more likely that it's a geological process. Venus is volcanic, and phosphine was initially discovered by heating phosphorus with potash. It's not a stretch to assume that's what happened.

It would be awesome if they found Venus had life. I always found that a more interesting idea than Mars having life.

Just about any explanation that's not "life" is probably true knowing how many people want to see it.

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shadowsword87 posted...

Oh I know, I was saying that.

Oh, okay.

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https://www.quora.com/Was-life-discovered-in-the-clouds-of-Venus-in-2020/answer/Brian-Roemmele?ch=10&share=756a32e9&srid=tMlS0

Here's an interesting read that tells why the discovery of phosphine is more compelling than other past cases

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I'd be kinda worried about Palpatine being so close, TBH

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Metalsonic66 posted...

I'd be kinda worried about Palpatine being so close, TBH

Kick him in the balls.
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Its probably only artificial phosphene unfortunately

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Always figured we'd find microbes on Europa, Io, Venus, or Mars one way or the other.

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