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Life on Venus? Scientists hunt for the truth

Interest in Earth’s hellish neighbour explodes after the detection of phosphine, a potential marker of life.
  1. Jonathan O'Callaghan
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The surprise discovery of gas that could be a sign of life on Venus has reignited scientific interest in Earth’s closest neighbour. Researchers and space agencies worldwide are now racing to turn their instruments — both on Earth and in space — towards the planet to confirm the presence of the gas, called phosphine, and to investigate whether it could really be coming from a biological source.

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Nature 586, 182-183 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02785-5

References

  1. Greaves, J. S. et al. Nature Astron. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-1174-4 (2020).

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  2. Sousa-Silva, C. et al. Astrobiology https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2018.1954 (2020).

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  3. Seager, S. et al. Astrobiology https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2020.2244 (2020).

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