A breakthrough during a new study has shown that extraterrestrial life may have been discovered on Venus.
The clouds surrounding the planet have proven to be “more habitable” than previously thought.
Until recent years, Venus was considered one of the least likely places to find extraterrestrial life due to its temperatures.
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The planet is continuously at 475°C day and night, making it the hottest in the solar system – even hotter than Mercury.
In 2020, scientists discovered evidence of the molecule phosphine, which is the result of life processes.
(Image: Getty Images/RF Science Photo Library)
However, the results were initially disputed, with scientists discussing the possibility of making a mistake in the amount of phosphine they thought they had found.
Moreover, it was doubted how life forms could withstand the sulfuric acid droplets in the clouds.
A new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has suggested that acid-neutralizing ammonia could make life possible.
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology believe that ammonia could trigger a chain of chemical reactions.
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He said: “This research provides a transformative hypothesis for the chemistry of Venus’ atmospheric cloud layers while reconciling decades-old atmospheric anomalies.
“Our model predicts that clouds are not entirely sulfuric acid, but are partially composed of ammonium salt sludge, which may be the result of biological ammonia production in cloud droplets.
“As a result, clouds are no more acidic than some extreme terrestrial environments that support life. Life could create its own environment on Venus. Model predictions for the abundance of gases in Venus’ atmosphere match better to observation than any previous model, and are easily testable.”
Sara Seager, co-author of research at MIT, said life exists in acidic environments on Earth “but it has nothing to do with the environment on Venus – unless life neutralizes some of those droplets. “, reports indy100.com.
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