The theory of life on Venus has just been completely destroyed – BGR

• The discoveries of what was thought to be phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere have sparked debate over the possibility that life exists on the harsh planet.
• Now, a new research report offers an explanation that doesn’t depend on the presence of phosphine and may overturn the whole theory that life exists on or around Venus.
• The study, which was published in Letters from the Astrophysical Journal, suggests that what scientists actually see in Venus’ atmosphere is simply sulfur dioxide, which is known to be common on Venus and would not indicate the presence of life.

The year 2020 has been filled with terrible things, but a seemingly bright point in the world of science came when scientists announced the discovery of what they believed to be phosphine in the atmosphere of the planet Venus. Phosphine in the atmosphere could be a sign of ongoing biological processes, and since the surface of Venus is little more than a toxic hell, it was thought that there could be airborne organisms around the planet, this which would be the first discovery of extraterrestrial life. never done.

Now, after several months of additional research, it seems increasingly likely that what scientists thought they saw in Venus’ atmosphere was not phosphine at all. The work, which appears in two articles published in Letters from the Astrophysical Journal, could be the ultimate killing blow to the theory of life on Venus.

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The researchers in this latest study looked at the data that was used to initially claim that phosphine might be present in Venus’ atmosphere. Unfortunately, the team couldn’t find a clear spectral signature of the gas in the data, which has already cast serious doubt on this claim.

Then, after studying the behavior of gases in Venus’ atmosphere in more detail, the team concluded that what scientists likely saw was only sulfur dioxide, which is a common gas around Venus and would not indicate the possible presence of life. This is obviously a huge disappointment, because it means that anyone who dreams of discovering the first alien life will have to wait a little longer.

Many members of the scientific community were already hesitant to believe that phosphine could possibly be present in the atmosphere of Venus. Since phosphine would deteriorate rapidly in the atmosphere, the presence of a significant amount of gas would mean that there is something actively generating it. One of the theories suggested that the biological processes taking place above the surface of Venus were responsible, but this myth now seems to be well and truly shattered.

So there is probably no life on Venus, but that doesn’t mean that alien life is absent from our entire solar system. Astronomers believe it is still possible that life, in one form or another, exists on the water-rich moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and perhaps even around Uranus.

Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in virtual reality, wearable devices, smartphones and future technologies. Most recently, Mike served as a technical writer at The Daily Dot and has been featured on USA Today, Time.com, and countless other websites and print. His love of reporting comes right after his gambling addiction.