Media2020

Astronomers report phosphine in Venus's clouds

When: 14 Sep 2020
Sources: 3 public sources

ALMA image of Venus with the spectral line the team read as phosphine ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), Greaves et al. & JCMT (East Asian Observatory), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A team led by Jane Greaves reported phosphine gas in Venus's cloud decks, a molecule that on Earth comes from industry or microbes, raising talk of possible life. Independent reanalyses found no evidence for it, and the journal cautioned readers about part of the paper's data.

Sources

OfficialPhosphine gas in the cloud decks of Venus (opens in a new tab)Nature Astronomy / 2020-09-14
OfficialHints of life on Venus (opens in a new tab)Royal Astronomical Society / 2020-09-14
PressAstronomers may have found a signature of life on Venus (opens in a new tab)MIT News / 2020-09-14

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