Astronomer Jane Greaves of Cardiff University in Wales was the lead author of the published research. “I was very surprised – stunned, in fact,” she said.
The study was co-authored by Clara Sousa-Silva. She is a molecular astrophysicist based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“With what we currently know of Venus, the most plausible explanation for phosphine, as fantastical as it might sound, is life,” Sousa-Silva said.
“This is important because if it is phosphine, and if it is life, it means that we are not alone. It also means that life itself must be very common, and there must be many other inhabited planets throughout our galaxy,” the astrophysicist added.
A proof-of-life
The researchers spotted phosphine gas in the clouds. It is above the deadly surface, within the Venusian clouds where temperatures average a moderate 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius).
Tiny quantities of phosphine gas are also present in the Earth’s atmosphere. Phosphine is produced by microbes, as well as, human technological processes.
