Biosignature Spotted on Venus Could Be From Volcanoes, Not Life
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A team of planetary scientists said that if there is phosphine on Venus, it could have geological — not biological — origins. Their findings suggest that phosphine, a chemical often associated with microbes, could come from a reaction in the Venusian sky kicked off by volcanic eruptions on the planet’s surface.
Last year, a scientific debate began when a team of scientists announced they had detected phosphine, a gas that is produced by some microorganisms and thus considered a biosignature, in Venus’s atmosphere. Further studies immediately complicated that result, and earlier this year another team said the gas wasn’t phosphine at all but sulphur dioxide. The recent team’s findings, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicate that Venus could have active volcanoes, something planetary scientists have long been unsure about.