Description:
Is alien life really out there? Humanity has wondered about it for decades,
and according to scientists, this might finally be a reality.
Astronomers have discovered there could be life on Venus.
Does this mean we'll finally meet aliens? Could this help us discover
other aliens? And what does this discovery mean for us?
Transcription:
Is alien life really out there? Humanity has wondered about it for decades,
and according to scientists, this might finally be a reality. Astronomers have
discovered there could be life on Venus. Venus might not be as alien as you
think. The planet is roughly the same size as Earth, and its gravity is 91%
of our planet's. We always talk about Mars being a potential home for humans,
but we shouldn't count out Venus either. And if there is life on the planet,
could this speed up our process of making it our new home? First, let's look
into why exactly scientists think there might be life on Venus. It all has to do
with phosphine. This is a colorless, flammable, and explosive gas that's also
pretty stinky. It smells like a mix of garlic and decaying fish. Ew. This gas can
be found on Earth, and it's dangerous to everything that uses oxygen to survive.
It was used as a chemical weapon during WWI, and is a byproduct of cooking
methamphetamine. This gas is not very pleasant, and it can be extremely deadly.
But now, astronomers have found that phosphine might be in Venus' atmosphere.
At first glance, At first glance, this might seem like a terrible thing, because this gas
kills anything that breathes oxygen. But that doesn't mean that life can't exist.
Just because something doesn't require oxygen doesn't mean it's completely
lifeless. Inside Venus' clouds of phosphine, there could be anaerobic bacteria.
These are organisms that don't require oxygen to survive.
They could be living on Venus, producing this phosphine gas. Keep in mind that
all of this is not fully verified yet. But astronomers have been keeping an eye on
Venus for nearly all of 2020, and this is what they think they've discovered.
So if this type of alien life really did exist on Venus, When you first hear about
alien life, you probably think about Martians with big heads, and us being able to
shake their hands. But that wouldn't be possible with these life-forms on Venus.
As it stands right now, we wouldn't be able to see any of the life on Venus with
our naked eye. It's all bacteria and microbes. And with all that potential phosphine
on the planet, it makes visiting Venus more dangerous for humans than ever.
So will we be meeting this life-form anytime soon? Probably not.Is this discovery
still incredibly exciting? Absolutely! And sure, it's discouraging we haven't found
Martians yet, And sure, it's discouraging we haven't found Martians yet, but try
not to be too disappointed. When discovering potential alien life, we should
remember to expand our ideas about what exactly these alien life-forms could be.
They don't necessarily have to be something with two or four legs that humans
are able to interact with. The possibilities for potential alien life are endless,
things we can't even imagine yet. And who knows what this current life-form
could turn into. It may start small, but in millions of years, we might see Venus
bloom into a planet full of organic life. Life on Venus might not be limited to
organisms living in phosphine gas either. Experts think that due to all the extreme
climates on the planet, life could form almost anywhere. And that goes for the
rest of the Solar System too. With scientists discovering potential life on Venus,
who knows what else is out there? Researchers will just have to keep searching
to find out. Speaking of researchers, one of the lead scientists who made this
exciting Venus discovery is on this week's What if Discussed.
We sit down with Dr. Sara Seager to talk about how she found this potential
life on Venus, and what exactly it means for other life in the Solar System.
Questions:
1. What's the basis of Astronomers for the possibility of alien life in Venus?
2. Describe what the phosphine gas like.
3. What do you think of Venus be the next habitable planet? Will it be possible?
