đŸ’„ Life on Venus? 😼

Quick thread with links to more info. First, the press release from @RoyalAstroSoc: https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/hints-life-venus

Short version: a molecule was detected in the atmosphere of Venus that MIGHT have been produced by life. (It's unclear how else to produce it there.)
Thread by @chrislintott with context and commentary on today's Venus announcement: https://twitter.com/chrislintott/status/1305521729662529536
Thread by @aussiastronomer with context and commentary on today's Venus announcement: https://twitter.com/aussiastronomer/status/1305523174155726849
A very brief summary of today's Venus announcement from @davecl42, one of the members of the discovery team: https://twitter.com/davecl42/status/1305523559427698688
Venus researchers are, as you might imagine, excited about this! Here’s a comment from @ThePlanetaryGuy: https://twitter.com/ThePlanetaryGuy/status/1305528145492279301
Here’s a link to the press briefing on the possible Venus biosignature announcement from @RoyalAstroSoc featuring comment from several of the scientists involved, including @jgreaves6 and @ProfSaraSeager: #VenusNews
The Verge coverage by @lorengrush: https://www.theverge.com/21428796/venus-gas-life-sign-discovery-phosphine-biosignature

"The gas’s presence isn’t enough to say for sure that Venus hosts life forms, but the fact that it exists in the planet’s clouds indicates that something is going on there that we don’t fully understand."
You can follow @AstroKatie.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: