Phosphine on Venus: does it mean life beyond Earth exists?

Science has just turned upside down with the discovery of phosphine on Venue’s atmosphere. The microwave radiation can thus have a huge impact. The scientists from Hawaii and Chile recently discovered the presence of minute molecules on the atmosphere of earth’s neighboring planet. It can be a huge sign of alien life!

What is phosphine?

Phosphine is a compound composed of hydrogen and phosphorus. This compound till date was found only on Earth. The only source for phosphine was the presence of tiny microbes in the oxygen-free environment.

Does the presence of phosphine on Venus’ atmosphere mean life exists in Venus? Does it not? Well, this is the only logical explanation for now.

Is there a sign of life?

Phosphine is found in the atmosphere of Jupiter and Saturn, but there are no signs of life on these planets. Scientists are of the view that this could be a result of deep atmospheric pressure. However, phosphine now being detected on Venus’ atmosphere has brought into consideration the fact whether or not life exists in venus.

To detect this, biologists and geologists have both jumped into finding out the reaction. Biologists are detecting acidity levels, carbon dioxide levels along with the temperature scale produced by the microbes in a planet like Venus. The microbes of Earth follow the anaerobic procedure to Phosphine. Therefore, Phosphine is detected in places like sewage treatment plants and sludge areas where there is little or no oxygen at all.

Biologists are further trying to find whether the bacterias producing Phosphine in Earth’s atmosphere can survive under the conditions of Venusian atmosphere as well. If the biological process of development of Phosphine is detected in the Venusian atmosphere, it can be a huge sign of the existence of life . However, the life form of Venus may be different from what exists in the Earth.

In the past years, research for the existence of life on Venus has often been debunked because of a high surface temperature of 500°C. Also, the atmospheric pressure on Venus’ atmosphere is around 100 times more than Earth. As a result, for life to exist in such adverse conditions is nearly impossible.

Molecular barcodes and new observations

The discovery of Phosphine on Venus’ atmosphere was possible due to spectroscopy, a phenomenon to detect how light interacts with molecules. On sunlight’s passage from Venusian atmosphere, each molecule absorbs the colors from the ray.

Every molecule further produces a different pattern with the light through dark absorption lines making it appear like barcodes. The barcodes are usually not visible to human eyes, and are observed only through the electromagnetic spectrum like ultraviolet rays, microwave and infrared waves.

Phosphine’s discovery on the Venusian atmosphere has been possible due to the detection of millimetre wavelengths.

The compound’s barcodes have also given rise to the curiosity of research. Computational quantum chemistry has been used in the procedure to determine the behavior of barcodes to protect the colors in different strengths. The presence of Phosphine could possibly determine the presence of life, but we need to wait for further confirmation.