Signs of life found on Venus

[Tender Branson]

SOMETHING DEADLY MIGHT be wafting through the clouds shrouding Venus—a smelly, flammable gas called phosphine that annihilates life-forms reliant on oxygen for survival. Ironically, though, the scientists who today announced sightings of this noxious gas in the Venusian atmosphere say it could be tantalizing—if controversial—evidence of life on the planet next door.

As far as we know, on rocky planets such as Venus and Earth, phosphine can only be made by life—whether human or microbe. Used as a chemical weapon during World War I, phosphine is still manufactured as an agricultural fumigant, is used in the semiconductor industry, and is a nasty byproduct of meth labs. But phosphine is also made naturally by some species of anaerobic bacteria—organisms that live in the oxygen-starved environments of landfills, marshlands, and even animal guts.

Earlier this year, researchers surmised that finding the chemical on other terrestrial planets could indicate the presence of alien metabolisms, and they suggested aiming the sharpest telescopes of the future at faraway exoplanets to probe their atmospheres for signs of the gas.

Now, we may have found signs of phosphine on the planet next door, astronomers report in the journal Nature Astronomy.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/09/possible-sign-of-life-found-on-venus-phosphine-gas/

[Tender Branson]

As far as we know, on rocky planets such as Venus and Earth, phosphine can only be made by life—whether human or microbe. Used as a chemical weapon during World War I, phosphine is still manufactured as an agricultural fumigant, is used in the semiconductor industry, and is a nasty byproduct of meth labs. But phosphine is also made naturally by some species of anaerobic bacteria—organisms that live in the oxygen-starved environments of landfills, marshlands, and even animal guts.

So ...

they are either

A) cooking meth on Venus
B) make chemical weapons there
C) are just farting the whole day

I rule out agriculture or a semiconductor industry on Venus.

The working conditions up there are probably too nasty.

[T'Chenka]

"Aa far aa we know" - yeah, there are probaby other ways that phosphine can come into existance outside of life forms. We just haven't figured it out yet.

[dead0man]

it exists on Jupiter too, where it is created by the atmosphere.  From wiki

It is also found in Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere where it forms in the planet's hot interior and reacts with other compounds in the upper atmosphere.[16] The abiotic synthesis of phosphine takes enormous amounts of energy, such as in the planet-sized convective storms of gas giants.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

As far as we know, on rocky planets such as Venus and Earth, phosphine can only be made by life—whether human or microbe. Used as a chemical weapon during World War I, phosphine is still manufactured as an agricultural fumigant, is used in the semiconductor industry, and is a nasty byproduct of meth labs. But phosphine is also made naturally by some species of anaerobic bacteria—organisms that live in the oxygen-starved environments of landfills, marshlands, and even animal guts.

So ...

they are either

A) cooking meth on Venus
B) make chemical weapons there
C) are just farting the whole day

I rule out agriculture or a semiconductor industry on Venus.

The working conditions up there are probably too nasty.

Never underestimate the sheer cussedness of methheads.

[Wazza [INACTIVE]]

Huh, so THATS where Zuckerberg came from...

[RI]

Life on Venus would be the plot twist of the millennium.

[Sirius_]

Life on Venus would be the plot twist of the millennium.

It was already theorized that Venus was similarly habitable to Earth long in the past, and it was like this long enough for complex life to evolve. Perhaps there was a civilization on Venus and now all that remains to show for it are simple organisms like the ones Venus would have started with. Perhaps it was a civilized race which destroyed the environment of Venus. Interesting to think about.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Life on Venus would be the plot twist of the millennium.

I'd rather have had another season of Game of Thrones had I known the writing for the 2020 show would be so hackish.

I fear we're going to get a tie in the electoral college and a faithless elector switches from Trump to Romney, who then wins in the House.  It would be truly insipid writing, but at least it would be better than anything we got from the final season of Game of Thrones.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man, look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man, wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show
Is there life on Venus?

[Meclazine for Israel]

they are....

A) cooking meth on Venus

Well it explains this:

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/meth-addled-aliens-robbing-banks-in-tulsa-2009-5

Aliens in the 70's were so much more chill.

[brucejoel99]

Plot twist: it's just bacteria from a badly disinfected Venera 4

[OSR stands with Israel]

Venus used to have a similar climate as earth for billions of year so its very possible life could have ben on Venus.

What happened was as the Sun grew larger , Venus got out of the habitable zone and eventually became the hellish planet it is today

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Venus used to have a similar climate as earth for billions of year so its very possible life could have ben on Venus.

What happened was as the Sun grew larger , Venus got out of the habitable zone and eventually became the hellish planet it is today

Slight correction, the sun's luminosity increased and it is still increasing. And one way or another, this is what will happen to earth eventually.

Like Youtuber Joe Scott said, "Space, is trying to kill you!"

[Sirius_]

Venus used to have a similar climate as earth for billions of year so its very possible life could have ben on Venus.

What happened was as the Sun grew larger , Venus got out of the habitable zone and eventually became the hellish planet it is today

Slight correction, the sun's luminosity increased and it is still increasing. And one way or another, this is what will happen to earth eventually.

Like Youtuber Joe Scott said, "Space, is trying to kill you!"

I wonder if they managed to escape. I see conspiracy theories flying about the Venus aliens already.

[bore]

Time for a Soviet joke:

In Odessa, a lecturer gives a talk entitled "Is there life on Mars?"

When he finishes, he asks, "Are there any questions?"

A  woman at the back puts her hand up "When will we have a life in Odessa?"

[Kingpoleon]

Venus used to have a similar climate as earth for billions of year so its very possible life could have ben on Venus.

What happened was as the Sun grew larger , Venus got out of the habitable zone and eventually became the hellish planet it is today

Slight correction, the sun's luminosity increased and it is still increasing. And one way or another, this is what will happen to earth eventually.

Like Youtuber Joe Scott said, "Space, is trying to kill you!"

This is not necessarily true. The technological advances within a thousand years or so may very well allow us to turn Earth into a spaceship of its own, and it could well be moved farther away from the sun. Barring the end of civilization, our technology will within four or five thousand years enable us to prolong the life of the sun and even move away from it before its inevitable death.

[Crane]

Venus used to have a similar climate as earth for billions of year so its very possible life could have ben on Venus.

What happened was as the Sun grew larger , Venus got out of the habitable zone and eventually became the hellish planet it is today

Slight correction, the sun's luminosity increased and it is still increasing. And one way or another, this is what will happen to earth eventually.

Like Youtuber Joe Scott said, "Space, is trying to kill you!"

This is not necessarily true. The technological advances within a thousand years or so may very well allow us to turn Earth into a spaceship of its own, and it could well be moved farther away from the sun. Barring the end of civilization, our technology will within four or five thousand years enable us to prolong the life of the sun and even move away from it before its inevitable death.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

[CS Lewis intensifies]

[Bakersfield Uber Alles]

Life on Venus would be the plot twist of the millennium.

I'd rather have had another season of Game of Thrones had I known the writing for the 2020 show would be so hackish.

I fear we're going to get a tie in the electoral college and a faithless elector switches from Trump to Romney, who then wins in the House.  It would be truly insipid writing, but at least it would be better than anything we got from the final season of Game of Thrones.

Sounds like the kind of plot some hack that wrote for House of Cards would come up with.

[anvi]

Phosphine doesn't necessarily indicate life. But it sure is interesting.

I can still remember Carl Sagan on the original Cosmos making fun of early scientific speculation about life on Mars. To paraphrase his mocking of the speculation: "'I can't see a thing on Venus. That's because it's covered with clouds. That means there is lots of water vapour. If there is water vapour, there must be lots of water. If there is lots of water, there must be lots of vegitation. And if there are lots of vegetation, maybe there are dinosaurs.' Observation: 'I can't see a thing.' Conclusion: 'Dinosaurs!'"

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Venus used to have a similar climate as earth for billions of year so its very possible life could have ben on Venus.

What happened was as the Sun grew larger , Venus got out of the habitable zone and eventually became the hellish planet it is today

Slight correction, the sun's luminosity increased and it is still increasing. And one way or another, this is what will happen to earth eventually.

Like Youtuber Joe Scott said, "Space, is trying to kill you!"

This is not necessarily true. The technological advances within a thousand years or so may very well allow us to turn Earth into a spaceship of its own, and it could well be moved farther away from the sun. Barring the end of civilization, our technology will within four or five thousand years enable us to prolong the life of the sun and even move away from it before its inevitable death.

There's no hurry, it'd take around 40 million years to equal the human induced climate change of the last several decades.