Astronomers have reported that mysterious traces of phosphine have been found in the upper atmosphere of Venus. This compound is a waste product of living organisms, and scientists are not yet aware of other sources of poisonous gas. Possible signs of life on the planet closest to Earth are reported by Live Science.
Phosphine was found using the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array) radio telescope complex in Chile and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii. Phosphine is contained in quantities that cannot be explained by abiotic mechanisms, that is, processes in which living organisms do not participate. On Earth, they are produced by anaerobic organisms that do not use oxygen for breathing.
Poisonous gas is also found in the atmosphere of gas giants due to chemical processes taking place deep in their bowels under pressure. However, on Venus, no known chemical processes could lead to the formation of phosphine. According to scientists, it is unlikely that living organisms can exist on a planet with a hot, toxic atmosphere, and phosphine is most likely produced as a result of some unknown chemical process.
