'Which of Earth's Neighbors Might Hold Life?'
2021-07-05
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1A new study says life in the clouds of Venus is unlikely.
2Scientists from Europe and the U.S. say there is not enough water in the planet's clouds to support life as we know it.
3The team started studying the possibility of life in Venus' clouds after a surprise announcement in September of last year.
4At that time, a team of scientists said they used telescopes to find evidence of the chemical phosphine in the thick clouds covering the planet.
5Phosphine is a poisonous gas.
6But on Earth, it is only associated with life.
7The organizers of the study and other experts agreed that the presence of phosphine was not proof of life.
8Their findings, however, suggested that organisms could exist in the thick, sulfuric acid-filled clouds of Venus.
9But researchers of the recent study used observations from spacecraft.
10They found that the amount of water in Venus' atmosphere is more than 100 times too low to support life like Earth's.
11John Hallsworth is a microbiologist at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland.
12He said the amount of water is very low and "an unbridgeable distance from what life requires to be active."
13His team studied the most dry-tolerant and also the most acid-tolerant microbes on Earth.
14The team then decided that the microbes could not survive on Venus.
15The latest findings suggest Venus is unlikely to have water-based organisms like ones on Earth.
16But the researchers identified another planet with enough water in its clouds and the right temperatures to support life - Jupiter.
17"Now I'm not suggesting there's life on Jupiter and I'm not even suggesting life could be there," Hallsworth told reporters.
18The team said it was not sure if the nutrients necessary for life existed in Jupiter's atmosphere.
19"But still, it's a profound and exciting finding and totally unexpected," Hallsworth said.
20Hallsworth and NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay wrote about their findings in Nature Astronomy, published in late June.
21They said further studies will be needed to learn whether microbial life might exist deep in the clouds of Jupiter.
22As for Venus, three new spacecraft will be going there within the next 10 years.
23NASA is sending two spacecraft next year and the European Space Agency is also sending one.
24Hallsworth and McKay do not believe their findings about Venus are likely to change.
25"It's unfortunate because I'm very interested in searching for life on other worlds and I would love to think that Venus is habitable," McKay said.
26The scientists who wrote the earlier study suggested there might be life in the clouds of Venus because they found evidence of phosphine gas.
27On Earth, the gas is linked with life.
28Sara Seager is an astrophysicist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was part of the September team.
29She said, "We are not trying to push Venus as a definitely habitable world. So far...Venus is inhabitable!" Seager added that she supports doing careful research "in case there is life on Venus."
30Any life in Venus' clouds - if it exists - might be totally unlike anything on Earth.
31It might have changed to be able to live in the planet's extremely hot and severe conditions, scientists say.
32"If there is life in the clouds of Venus, then this has to be 'Life as we do not know it,' said astrobiologist Janusz Petkowski, who works with Seager at MIT.
33Petkowski wondered, "The question is how different that life can be?"
34I'm Gregory Stachel.
1A new study says life in the clouds of Venus is unlikely. 2Scientists from Europe and the U.S. say there is not enough water in the planet's clouds to support life as we know it. 3The team started studying the possibility of life in Venus' clouds after a surprise announcement in September of last year. At that time, a team of scientists said they used telescopes to find evidence of the chemical phosphine in the thick clouds covering the planet. Phosphine is a poisonous gas. But on Earth, it is only associated with life. 4The organizers of the study and other experts agreed that the presence of phosphine was not proof of life. Their findings, however, suggested that organisms could exist in the thick, sulfuric acid-filled clouds of Venus. 5But researchers of the recent study used observations from spacecraft. They found that the amount of water in Venus' atmosphere is more than 100 times too low to support life like Earth's. 6John Hallsworth is a microbiologist at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland. He said the amount of water is very low and "an unbridgeable distance from what life requires to be active." 7His team studied the most dry-tolerant and also the most acid-tolerant microbes on Earth. The team then decided that the microbes could not survive on Venus. 8The latest findings suggest Venus is unlikely to have water-based organisms like ones on Earth. But the researchers identified another planet with enough water in its clouds and the right temperatures to support life - Jupiter. 9"Now I'm not suggesting there's life on Jupiter and I'm not even suggesting life could be there," Hallsworth told reporters. The team said it was not sure if the nutrients necessary for life existed in Jupiter's atmosphere. "But still, it's a profound and exciting finding and totally unexpected," Hallsworth said. 10Hallsworth and NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay wrote about their findings in Nature Astronomy, published in late June. They said further studies will be needed to learn whether microbial life might exist deep in the clouds of Jupiter. 11As for Venus, three new spacecraft will be going there within the next 10 years. NASA is sending two spacecraft next year and the European Space Agency is also sending one. Hallsworth and McKay do not believe their findings about Venus are likely to change. 12"It's unfortunate because I'm very interested in searching for life on other worlds and I would love to think that Venus is habitable," McKay said. 13The scientists who wrote the earlier study suggested there might be life in the clouds of Venus because they found evidence of phosphine gas. On Earth, the gas is linked with life. 14Sara Seager is an astrophysicist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was part of the September team. She said, "We are not trying to push Venus as a definitely habitable world. So far...Venus is inhabitable!" Seager added that she supports doing careful research "in case there is life on Venus." 15Any life in Venus' clouds - if it exists - might be totally unlike anything on Earth. It might have changed to be able to live in the planet's extremely hot and severe conditions, scientists say. 16"If there is life in the clouds of Venus, then this has to be 'Life as we do not know it,' said astrobiologist Janusz Petkowski, who works with Seager at MIT. Petkowski wondered, "The question is how different that life can be?" 17I'm Gregory Stachel. 18Marcia Dunn reported on this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 19____________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21associated - adj. connected or linked with something else 22sulfuric acid - n. a very strong kind of acid 23tolerant - adj. able to allow or accept something that is harmful or unpleasant 24habitable - adj. suitable or fit to live in 25profound - adj. very great 26astrobiologist - n. a person who studies the possible origin, distribution, evolution, and future of life in the universe, including that on Earth, using a combination of methods from biology, chemistry, and astronomy 27Do you think there could be life on our neighboring planets? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.