Signs Of Extraterrestrial ‘Aerial’ Life Found Inside Clouds On Venus – Shocking Discovery Astronomers Say

Cynthia McKanzie – MessageToEagle.com – Could there really be alien life inside the clouds on Venus? It is possible!

Scientists have announced they have discovered phosphine, a rare molecule in the clouds of Venus. It’s much too early to say anything with certainty yet, but it could be a sign of extraterrestrial aerial life present on the clouds on Venus!

Astronomers have speculated for decades that high clouds on Venus, our closest neighbor could offer a home for microbes—floating free of the scorching surface, but still needing to tolerate very high acidity.

The detection of phosphine molecules, which consist of hydrogen and phosphorus, could point to this extra-terrestrial ‘aerial’ life.

Signs Of Extraterrestrial 'Aerial' Life Found Inside Clouds On Venus - Shocking Discovery Astronomers Say

Planet Venus. Credit: WithanTor – Adobe Stock

The team first used the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) in Hawaii to detect the phosphine and were then awarded time to follow up their discovery with 45 telescopes of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile.

Both facilities observed Venus at a wavelength of about 1 millimeter, much longer than the human eye can see—only telescopes at high altitude can detect this wavelength effectively.

“This was an experiment made out of pure curiosity, really—taking advantage of JCMT’s powerful technology, and thinking about future instruments.

I thought we’d just be able to rule out extreme scenarios, like the clouds being stuffed full of organisms. When we got the first hints of phosphine in Venus’ spectrum, it was a shock!” Professor Jane Greaves of Cardiff University says.

It’s an incredible discovery and the scientists were naturally cautious about the initial findings.

Using the more sensitive ALMA observatory, astronomers had to re-confirm the observation.

“In the end, we found that both observatories had seen the same thing—faint absorption at the right wavelength to be phosphine gas, where the molecules are backlit by the warmer clouds below, ” Professor Greaves says in a press statement.

To create the observed quantity of phosphine on Venus, terrestrial organisms would only need to work at about 10% of their maximum productivity, according to calculations by Dr. Paul Rimmer of Cambridge University. Any microbes on Venus will likely be very different to their Earth cousins though, to survive in hyper-acidic conditions.

Earth bacteria can absorb phosphate minerals, add hydrogen, and ultimately expel phosphine gas. It costs them energy to do this, so why they do it is not clear. The phosphine could be just a waste product, but other scientists have suggested purposes like warding off rival bacteria.

Another MIT team-member, Dr. Clara Sousa Silva, was also thinking about searching for phosphine as a ‘biosignature’ gas of non-oxygen-using life on planets around other stars, because normal chemistry makes so little of it.

She comments: “Finding phosphine on Venus was an unexpected bonus!

Signs Of Extraterrestrial 'Aerial' Life Found Inside Clouds On Venus - Shocking Discovery Astronomers Say

An international team of astronomers has detected the chemical compound phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, that could be produced by microbes. (JAXA/ISAS/Akatsuki Project Team)

The discovery raises many questions, such as how any organisms could survive. On Earth, some microbes can cope with up to about 5% of acid in their environment – but the clouds of Venus are almost entirely made of acid.”

Other possible biosignatures in the Solar System may exist, like methane on Mars and water venting from the icy moons Europa and Enceladus.

On Venus, it has been suggested that dark streaks where ultraviolet light is absorbed could come from colonies of microbes.

The Akatsuki spacecraft, launched by the Japanese space agency JAXA, is currently mapping these dark streaks to understand more about this “unknown ultraviolet absorber”.

The team believes their discovery is significant because they can rule out many alternative ways to make phosphine, but they acknowledge that confirming the presence of “life” needs a lot more work.

Signs Of Extraterrestrial 'Aerial' Life Found Inside Clouds On Venus - Shocking Discovery Astronomers Say

Artist’s impression of Venus, with an inset showing a representation of the phosphine molecules, detected in the high cloud decks. CreditESO / M. Kornmesser / L. Calçada & NASA / JPL / Caltech

Although the high clouds of Venus have temperatures up to a pleasant 30 degrees centigrade, they are incredibly acidic – around 90% sulphuric acid – posing major issues for microbes to survive there. Professor Sara Seager and Dr. Janusz Petkowski, also both at MIT, are investigating how microbes could shield themselves inside droplets.

The team is now eagerly awaiting more telescope time, for example, to establish whether the phosphine is in a relatively temperate part of the clouds, and to look for other gases associated with life.

New space missions could also travel to our neighboring planet, and sample the clouds in situ to further search for signs of life.

“Venus has for decades captured the imagination of scientists and astronomers across the world.”

See also: More About Extraterrestrial Life

“This discovery is immensely exciting, helping us increase our understanding of the universe and even whether there could be life on Venus, “science Minister Amanda Solloway said.

The new discovery is described in a paper in Nature Astronomy.

Written by Cynthia McKanzie MessageToEagle.com Staff Writer