From the moon to Mars, scientists have been hunting for alien life in the solar system for decades. However, Venus was not regarded as an ideal place because of its hot temperature and dry atmosphere. But a recent discovery of truces of a gas in the clouds of Venus has excited astronomers, as it may serve as a potential sign of life.
On Sept 14, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada announced that scientists have detected phosphine (磷化氢) in the clouds of Venus. Phosphine is a color-less, toxic gas that has a smell of garlic. Though it contains poison, it is viewed as a possible sign of life because on Earth the gas is made by microorganisms(微生物) that live in oxygen-free environments.
"I was very surprised-stunned, in fact," astronomer Jane Greaves of Cardiff University in Wales and lead author of the research told MSN," There is a chance that we have detected some kind of living organism in the clouds of Venus."
This layer of clouds is about 48 kilometers above the Venus surface with its temperature ranging from 30 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (about-1 to 93℃). Scientists have assumed that if life exists on Venus, this cloud deck(云盖) is likely the only place where it would survive.
Scientists went through every possibility that could have led to the formation of phosphine gas in Venus clouds, including volcanoes, lightning strikes, small meteorites(陨石) falling into the atmosphere. But they ruled all of them out. It was concluded that there is no explanation for the existence of this gas in Venus clouds, other than the presence of life, USA Today reported. Although the detection of phosphine is not strong evidence for life, this finding is great enough to change scientists' view on Venus, which is though to be a completely inhospitable(不适合居住的) planet.
