Phosphine: Proof Of Life On Planet Venus?

Found in the droppings of badgers and penguins and used as an ad hoc chemical weapon on the TV series Breaking Bad, is phosphine the definitive proof that extraterrestrial life exists on the Planet Venus?

By: Ringo Bones

The planet Venus, despite of earning the moniker as “planet Earth’s twin” has since been dismissed as hostile to familiar forms of life because its surface temperature averages 800 degrees Fahrenheit and on its surface, the atmospheric pressure is 90 times that of planet Earth – akin to going 3,000 feet underwater. Not to mention the clouds of sulfuric acid found on its upper atmosphere. But recently, hopes had been raised that there’s definitive proof that extraterrestrial life exists on Venus because astronomers had detected a chemical that can only be produced as a metabolic byproduct of anaerobic microorganisms here on planet Earth – and that very chemical is called phosphine.

Here on planet Earth, phosphine can be found in our intestines as a metabolic byproduct of anaerobic microorganisms living there, in the feces of badgers and penguins and in some deep-sea worms, as well as other biological environments associated with anaerobic organisms. It can be very poisonous in large enough concentrations. Militaries have employed it for chemical warfare and it is widely used as a fumigant in commercial farms because it is less corrosive than ammonia. On the TV show Breaking Bad, the main character Walter White used it as an ad hoc chemical weapon to kill two of his rivals. Sadly, scientists have yet to provide a definitive explanation on how Earth’s anaerobic microorganisms produce it.

Phosphine has been detected by the Cassini spacecraft on the atmospheres’ of the planets Jupiter and Saturn due to the immense pressures exerted by these gas giant planets’ atmospheres. But at atmospheric pressures closer to planet Earth’s it seems that phosphine can only be produced with the association of the metabolic processes of anaerobic microorganisms and associated environments.

Back in June 2017, Dr. Jane Greaves, an astronomer at Cardiff University of Wales set out to test the hypothesis first proposed by astronomers Carl Sagan and Harold Morowitz back in 1966 that the cloud layer just 31 miles below the upper atmosphere of the planet Venus might harbor life because the average temperature there is only 83 degrees Fahrenheit and the atmospheric pressure is about the same as that found here on Earth at sea level. Using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii to look for signs of various molecules on the Venusian atmosphere, Dr. Grieves chose to zero in phosphine because, according to her,  phosphorous  might be a sort of go-no-go for life.

According to Sara Seager, a planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, using phosphine gas a s a sign of extraterrestrial life on planet Venus is an “out of the blue finding” after the interests raised over the publishing of the papers she co-authored in Nature Astronomy and the journal Astrobiology. Harvard University astrophysicist Clara Sousa-Silva whose research paper she co-authored with Seager focusing on phosphine has now raised further interest in exploring the planet Venus further for definitive proof for signs of extraterrestrial life. Sadly only one spacecraft – Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft – is currently performing a lonely vigil of orbiting planet Venus since 2016. Maybe NASA should send a balloon-borne probe to explore Venus’ upper atmosphere to find signs of extremophiles living on the sulfuric acid droplet clouds.

Is SETI a Dead End Search?

Is the SETI program doomed to fail because no sentient being claiming to be intelligent chooses radio – waves as a means of communicating over vast interstellar distances?


By: Vanessa Uy


Ever since humanity mastered the efficient propagation of radio - waves early in the 20th Century and formalized the science of radio astronomy. We became intrigued by the prospect that somewhere out there in space there might be extraterrestrial - beings. Beings that are as smart or smarter - than - us just waiting for our hails. Given the vast distance separating the stars, and on what we’ve learned on how fast radio – waves can travel, it seems like calling out to our interstellar brethren might be a fools errand. Yet it haven’t discouraged a group of astronomers from establishing SETI, which stands for the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence.

Radio – waves are a part of the electromagnetic spectrum which includes the visible light part of the spectrum - which allows us to see the world around us plus the other parts that we use everyday. Like the ultra violet rays from the sun that allows our skin to produce Vitamin D and an “aesthetically pleasing” tan. Like the X – Rays for non-invasive medical analysis, the near – infrared which operates our TVs remote, the longer infrared which we use to cook and heat our food, to microwaves used in microwave ovens and navigation purposes. Then the radio – waves of various frequencies used for navigation, telecommunication, or just produced as a by product of grid electricity production (the 60 Hz AC current produces radio – waves whose wavelengths measures about 3,000 Km from crest to crest).

Radio – waves travel in space at about 186,000 miles per second or 300,000 kilometers per second. Given the vastness of space radio – waves sent to the Moon will reach there in just 1.25 seconds, Mars in about 20 minutes while further on into the Gas Giants, it could be more than an hour. Radio – waves will take almost ten hours to reach Pluto and will take the whole part of the day to completely leave our Solar System past the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud regions. Four and a quarter years to reach Alpha Centauri, 150,000 years to go across the Milky Way galaxy and will probably take 18 billion years to go across the known universe. You probably now starting to get the idea of the problem faced in interstellar communication using just radio – waves. Imagine sending an e – mail to your ET friend who lives 45 light years away from you and chances are you won’t get a response within your lifetime.

Despite the problems there are solutions even though they may take a “few years” depending on how much of our government funds slated for scientific research will be diverted to a “War on Terror” rife with malfeasance. There’s that experiment done by Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen about quantum entanglement. The results of which have not yet been utilized for practical applications after all these years. Then there’s the phenomenon of particles that travel faster – than – light like tachyons, or what about the concept of “wormholes” or an “Einstein – Rosen Bridge”. The list goes on and who knows you might be the lucky one to develop such technology like the one used in the Star Trek TV series called subspace communication technology.

Despite “sticking their guns” on radio – wave technology that’s limited by the 186,000 miles–per-second speed limit, the current SETI is by no means astronomy’s white elephant. Back in the 1970’s, SETI received an anomalous signal in which they dubbed as the “WOW Signal” because it’s the definitive “smoking gun” if you will of an extraterrestrial civilization possessing technology to modulate a radio – wave for the purposes of telecommunication. Despite the ensuing excitement, the “WOW Signal” was never found again even after all these years. But anyone of us who still believes still live in hope that someday ET will call back.

To me, using radio – waves to search for extraterrestrial intelligence across the vastness of the cosmos is somewhat an inelegant solution. This will be like our ancient ancestors choosing to attach flotation devices on their feet to walk across vast stretches of water as opposed to inventing / building boats and ships. And also – to me – the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is somewhat of a misnomer. Using “radio telescopes” for SETI purposes will only detect “extraterrestrial technology”, don’t forget that extraterrestrial sentient beings that are technological equals to our ancient Babylonian astronomers are intelligent too.