Scientists who were previously derided for suggesting clouds on Venus might contain conditions for life have found new evidence to back up their claims. In 2020, a British team led by researcher Jane Greaves discovered phosphine, a gas associated with life on Earth, was present in the clouds above Venus, but some scientists disputed her controversial claims. Nevertheless, Greaves persisted and presented new evidence to the Royal Astronomical Society earlier this month.
On this occasion, Ms. Greaves said that in addition to phosphine, she has also found evidence of ammonia in the Venus clouds—yet another sign of life and one she believes could be linked to human activity on Earth.
If proven true, the presence of phosphine and ammonia would suggest that one of Earth’s nearest neighbors does not have quite the acidic environment as typically believed. “It’s only as acidic as some of the most extreme places on Earth,” Greaves said.
Astrophysicist Dave Clements from Imperial College London said ammonia is an even more significant and surprising find than phosphine. “By all normal expectations, they shouldn’t be there,” Clements said of both gases.
NASA scientists explain that Venus is the sixth largest planet in our solar system and the hottest. Temperatures are so high on the planet that experts say it would melt lead. NASA describes it as “hellish.”
Known as “Earth’s twin” because the two planets are similar in size, Venus nevertheless has a very different atmosphere and a very different relationship with the sun. Experts note that the atmosphere on Venus’s surface is so thick that only a sliver of sunlight reaches through. Additionally, Venus orbits the sun faster; a year there is shorter than on Earth, taking just 255 days. Remarkably, Venus rotates more slowly than Earth, with one day equivalent to 243 Earth days. As a result, NASA says that on Venus, a day is longer than a year.
The planet, named after the Roman goddess of love and fertility, is home to a diverse terrain. It has solid surfaces, rocky mountains, rifts, and even volcanoes. Its age is unknown but is estimated to range from 150 million to one billion years.
