15 Sep 20
@Ponderable
I hope that hypes up the idea for an atmosphere probe to dip in and take samples and send them back to Earth.
15 Sep 20
@sonhouse saidYes - seems doable. The temperatures at altitude are quite benign, a balloon
@Ponderable
I hope that hypes up the idea for an atmosphere probe to dip in and take samples and send them back to Earth.
loaded with test equipment could presumably float around for some time? I
think the prospect of bringing samples back is vastly more difficult.
15 Sep 20
@ponderable saidI think the scientists who discovered the phosphine are saying that there is
https://www.wired.com/story/dr-phosphine-and-the-possibility-of-life-on-venus/
This is a lengthy article on why the finding of phosphine in the Venus atmosphere could be a hint of life.
no known abiotic mechanism for producing the amounts they have seen.
They are asking the scientific community for ideas rather than shouting "LIFE!"
Still very interesting though.
16 Sep 20
@wolfgang59 saidI doubt that there's life on Venus, the conditions are extreme. The surface temperature is high, higher than that used for sterilizing equipment, and the atmosphere contains clouds of sulphuric acid, there's little or no water, atmospheric pressure is 50 bars and there's no magnetic field [1]. The paper announcing the discovery is here [2]. The interest in phospine as a marker for life on anoxic planets is discussed in this paper [3]. So the interest is that if we can explain the presence of phosphine in Venus's atmosphere without recourse to anaerobic life then phospine is not a good biomarker for life on anoxic exoplanets. If, on the other hand, we actually do find extremophillic life there then there's a double discovery, that of life on Venus, and a proof-of-concept that detection of phosphine is indicative of the presence of life.
I think the scientists who discovered the phosphine are saying that there is
no known abiotic mechanism for producing the amounts they have seen.
They are asking the scientific community for ideas rather than shouting "LIFE!"
Still very interesting though.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus#Atmosphere_and_climate
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-1174-4
[3] https://arxiv.org/abs/1910.05224
16 Sep 20
@deepthought saidThe temperatures and pressure at altitude are more hospitable and that is where
I doubt that there's life on Venus, the conditions are extreme. The surface temperature is high, higher than that used for sterilizing equipment, and the atmosphere contains clouds of sulphuric acid, there's little or no water, atmospheric pressure is 50 bars and there's no magnetic field
it is speculated life may exist. The sulphuric acid is a problem though!
16 Sep 20
@Ponderable
It still will be interesting to find what is making phosphine, life or no, right now it's a bit of a mystery.
05 Oct 20
Here’s a wild, crackpot theory: the Soviet Venera probes unwittingly seeded the upper atmosphere of Venus in the 1960s and 70s with anaerobic terrestrial microbes!
Hey, reality is just as weird:
"Super bacteria" survive for three years outside space station
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-54029521
05 Oct 20
1 edit
@soothfast saidextremely unlikely I think.
Here’s a wild, crackpot theory: the Soviet Venera probes unwittingly seeded the upper atmosphere of Venus in the 1960s and 70s with anaerobic terrestrial microbes!
But it must be possible!