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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/science/venus-life-clouds.html

Phosphine is a phosphorus atom combined with three hydrogen atoms and it does not form easily. It can be produced by the extreme environment in the atmosphere of a gas giant like Jupiter, but on small rocky planets, the only known source is anaerobic bacteria; although extremely poisonous it is found in our intestines. It breaks down quickly and this makes it a potential candidate for detecting the presence of life. Now it has been discovered in the atmosphere of Venus and the only plausible explanation (so far) is that there is life on Venus.

It is also possible that the phosphine is being produced by some previously unknown chemical process but either way, it means that Venus warrants much closer study. Although it is the closest planet to Earth, the environment on Venus is so harsh that space probes do not survive more than a few minutes on its surface and it has never been considered as a potential place to find life. That is about to change.

While we wait for more news, here's a really excellent classic science fiction to watch.

[HS]

I’m excited to see people’s ideas for high-temp electronics and rovers/robotics. That alone would be good enough, but ten years down the line, the resulting technological knowledge could allow us to update electronics on a hardware level, back on Earth.

[frankinstien]

NASA has thought of putting a manned station on Venus!

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Here is an in-depth interview with R.J. Graham, one of the scientific experts in the field (atmospheric physics).



After you've watched that video, check out some of the other videos that this channel has to offer. Event Horizon is primarily concerned with the Fermi Paradox and each week features deep interviews with leading professional scientists in various related fields, such as artificial intelligence, physics, mathematics, astronomy, and cosmology.