Four years ago, a team of researchers led by Jane Greaves from Cardiff University announced the discovery of large amounts of phosphine in the clouds of Venus. The intriguing point was that this gas is associated with life on Earth. Thus, the team of scientists suggested that despite the highly acidic environment on Venus, life could flourish in its clouds. The assumption was too bold, and therefore caused a lot of controversy among scientists. But Greaves and her colleagues have now provided new evidence to support their theory. This time, researchers found ammonia on Venus, which is known to be another gas associated with biological activity on Earth. The team continues to argue that the second planet from the Sun does have its own ecosystem. “Perhaps there is some kind of microbial life on Venus that produces ammonia, as this would be a neat way for it to regulate its own environment. As we know, ammonia would make the environment less acidic and more suitable for survival. This level of acidity could compare to some of the most extreme places on Earth, so it’s not completely crazy,” says study author Greaves. True, there is still a gap between “not quite crazy” and convincing evidence of extraterrestrial life. “There are many other processes that could feed the atmosphere of Venus with ammonia. We understand why ammonia could be useful for life. But we cannot understand how this ammonia or phosphine is produced, but the former has a functional purpose that seems logical,” says Imperial College London astrophysicist Dave Clements, who provided isolated evidence for the existence of ammonia on Venus. University of Aberdeen planetary science professor Javier Martin-Torres was the one who challenged Greaves’ arguments a few years ago. He concluded that the presence of water in the atmosphere of Venus is too small to make it suitable for any life. But Torres agrees that the presence of ammonia in Venus’ highly acidic environment is intriguing. He said the discovery “challenges our understanding and suggests that more complex chemistry may be involved.” Fortunately, NASA’s DAVINCI probe, which will dive into the atmosphere of Venus in the 2030s to study its composition, will be able to put an end to the debate. The post Is there life on Venus or not: ridiculed scientists are back with new evidence appeared first on Anomalien.com.