An international (UK-US-Japan) team of astronomers have stunned the scientific world by announcing the discovery of a rare molecule in the atmosphere of Venus, the third planet from the Sun, and Earth’s nearest neighbour (often called Earth’s ‘non-identical twin’, because the two are so similar in size, mass and gravity). That molecule is phosphine, which is composed of hydrogen and phosphorous. On Earth, there are only two sources of phosphine. One is industrial production, which is obviously not taking place on Venus. The other source is microbial life which thrives in oxygen-free environments. “When we got the first hints of phosphine in Venus’s spectrum, it was a shock!” affirmed University of Cardiff astronomer and research team leader Professor Jane Greaves.
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