From: alain245@videotron.ca   
      
   On Sep/14/2020 at 14:01, dumpster4@hotmail.com wrote :   
   > "High in the toxic atmosphere of the planet Venus, astronomers on Earth have   
   > discovered signs of what might be life.   
   >   
   > If the discovery is confirmed by additional telescope observations and future   
   > space missions, it could turn the gaze of scientists toward one of the   
   brightest   
   > objects in the night sky. Venus, named after the Roman goddess of beauty,   
   roasts   
   > at temperatures of hundreds of degrees and is cloaked by clouds that contain   
   > droplets of corrosive sulfuric acid. Few have focused on the rocky planet as   
   a   
   > habitat for something living.   
   >   
   > Instead, for decades, scientists have sought signs of life elsewhere, usually   
   > peering outward to Mars and more recently at Europa, Enceladus and other icy   
   > moons of the giant planets.   
   >   
   > The astronomers, who reported the finding on Monday in a pair of papers, have   
   > not collected specimens of Venusian microbes, nor have they snapped any   
   pictures   
   > of them. But with powerful telescopes, they have detected a chemical —   
   phosphine   
   > — in the thick Venus atmosphere. After much analysis, the scientists   
   assert that   
   > something now alive is the only explanation for the chemical’s source.   
   >   
   > Some researchers question this hypothesis, and they suggest instead that the   
   gas   
   > could result from unexplained atmospheric or geologic processes on a planet   
   that   
   > remains mysterious. But the finding will also encourage some planetary   
   > scientists to ask whether humanity has overlooked a planet that may have once   
   > been more Earthlike than any other world in our solar system.   
   >   
   > “This is an astonishing and ‘out of the blue’ finding,” said Sara   
   Seager, a   
   > planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an   
   author   
   > of the papers (one published in Nature Astronomy and another submitted to the   
   > journal Astrobiology). “It will definitely fuel more research into the   
   > possibilities for life in Venus’s atmosphere.”"   
   >   
   > See:   
   >   
   > https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/science/venus-life-clouds.html   
      
   If I recall correctly, it was Pat Flannery who would talk about the   
   purple haired Venusian fire ladies. If he was still around he would be   
   happy to know that they have microbial company.   
      
      
   Alain Fournier   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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