Washington-SANA
American astronomers have discovered an elusive gas on Venus that had not previously been found on the planet that could be a sign of life on its surface.
According to the specialized American site "Verg", scientists have discovered a gas called "phosphine", which is a toxic and explosive molecule with the smell of garlic and dead fish in a layer of clouds on Venus, where temperatures are very close to those on Earth.
Scientists explained that "phosphine" can be found in swamps, in the guts of animals, or in the excrement they leave behind, meaning that it is a gas exclusively linked to life on Earth, which increases the possibility that it is a sign of the presence of microbes floating in the clouds of Venus.
David Clements, an astrophysicist and member of the team that made the discovery, said that finding a small amount of "phosphine" on Venus is interesting because of how the gas is produced on Earth, which is either made by fumigants or biological weapons, or is a natural by-product of life. .
