The unexpected atmospheric detection of phosphine, a smelly gas
made by microbes on Earth, could spark a revolution in astrobiology
| There is something funky going on in the clouds of Venus. Telescopes have detected unusually high concentrations of the molecule phosphine—a stinky, flammable chemical typically associated with feces, farts and rotting microbial activity—in an atmospheric layer far above the planet’s scorching surface. |
By Adam Mann
www.scientificamerican.com 9-14-20 |
The finding is curious because here on Earth, phosphine is essentially always associated with living creatures …