The discovery of a possible sign of life in Venus’ clouds sparked controversy. Now, scientists say they have more proof

The discovery of a possible sign of life in Venus’
 clouds sparked controversy.
Now, scientists say they have more proof

Four years ago, the unexpected discovery in the clouds of Venus of a gas that on Earth signifies life — phosphine — faced controversy, earning rebukes in subsequent observations that failed to match its findings.

Now, the same team behind that discovery has come back with more observations, presented for the first time on July 17 at a Royal Astronomical Society meeting in Hull, England. Eventually, they will form the basis of one or more scientific studies, and that work has already started.

The data, the researchers say, contains even stronger proof that phosphine is present in the clouds of Venus, our closest planetary neighbor. Sometimes called Earth’s evil twin, the planet is similar to ours in size but features surface temperatures that can melt lead and clouds made of corrosive sulfuric acid.

By Jacopo Prisco,

Full story at Yahoo News.