Get In Your Bunker ‘Cos Scientists Reckon They’ve Found Life on Venus

Yeah, I don’t know what to expect from 2020 anymore.

If you were starting to think this year was finally looking normal, think again: astronomers in the UK have just discovered signs of alien life on the goddess planet. Well, sort of.

Technically scientists came across a rare chemical in the atmosphere of Venus called Phosphine. This short-lived toxic gas is found on Earth, but it is either produced by microbes that live without oxygen or through industrial activities.

Before you freak out and start hoarding supplies (look we’ve been there before let’s not do it again) this discovery doesn’t confirm alien life; it’s just a giant maybe.

While a toxic gas isn’t exactly life, it could be an indication of some. Essentially the discovery of a gas like this suggests that some kind of chemical process has occurred, either through an organism living on Venus, or simply just a process we haven’t yet discovered on Earth.

If you’re interested in all the sciencey stuff, you can read all about the findings in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Okay sure, something like this could only happen in 2020 but scientists did float the idea of life on Venus until the 1960s. They moved on after realising the planet is basically uninhabitable, only three per cent of light can get through its thick clouds of sulphuric acid, and the surface temperature goes well past 470 degrees Celsius. Scientists back in the day literally described it as hell.

The irony that we spent so much time on Mars and may have overlooked Venus is not lost on me pic.twitter.com/NFlhUAPzVP

— Nhu-Y Ngo (@nhuyngo) September 14, 2020

Because of this, scientists and NASA have kind of ignored Venus for a long while, but these kinds of discoveries are super exciting because it means the goddess planet might finally get her time in the spotlight.

Life on Venus? The discovery of phosphine, a byproduct of anaerobic biology, is the most significant development yet in building the case for life off Earth. About 10 years ago NASA discovered microbial life at 120,000ft in Earth’s upper atmosphere. It’s time to prioritize Venus. https://t.co/hm8TOEQ9es

— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) September 14, 2020

Maybe while astronomers were keeping an eye on Mars, Venus had the goods all along. Because the goddess planet is so close to us, it means we may actually be able to go there to find out if aliens actually exist.

As Venus is technically the closest planet to Earth, it’s kind of important to know if we’ve got some new neighbors, and if they come in peace. But hey, at least we’ve taken better care of our planet than they have of theirs (haha, what do you mean climate change?).

Intelligent life on Venus would be pretty cool. Would be cool here on Earth, too, though.

— DJES (@theJperspective) September 14, 2020

While 'life on Venus' sounds like aliens that could look just like us, it might actually mean the opposite. If scientists did confirm life exists there, it would look very different to anything we’ve ever seen before, and likely survive in the planet’s dense clouds.

So no, we dont have aliens next door just yet, you can take off that tin foil hat.

Header Image: Fox Network