- Dr. Michelle Thaller claims that “possible signs of life” have been seen on Venus
- Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system with a scorching temperature of 475°C (900°F)
A planet enduring scorching temperatures of 475°C (900°F) under a thick, acidic atmosphere may be the last place you’d expect to see extraterrestrial life in our solar system.
But a NASA scientist claims aliens are most likely hiding on Venus amid conditions unbearable to humans.
The new theory was put forth by Dr. Michelle Thaller, a research scientist at the US-based Goddard Space Flight Center.
She says “possible signs of life” have already been seen in the carbon dioxide-filled atmosphere, adding that she was absolutely certain life existed somewhere.
“We are seeing possible signs of life in the atmosphere of Venus,” Dr Thaller said in an interview with The sun.
Dr. NASA’s Michelle Thaller claims that “possible signs of life” have been seen on Venus
‘I never expected Venus. Venus is now one where we see something in the atmosphere that looks very much like it could be produced by bacteria.”
Venus is often described as “Earth’s twin” because of its similar size and structure.
But their circumstances couldn’t be further apart, as astronomers believe it would be impossible for humans to exist on Venus.
Venus, 67 million miles from the sun, is the hottest planet in our solar system, with temperatures that can even melt lead.
The atmosphere — made up of sulfuric acid and carbon dioxide — also contributes to the situation, creating a “runaway greenhouse effect” that prevents heat from escaping to space beyond.
Despite this, scientists have long debated whether Venus’ clouds could harbor microbial life forms that can survive on sulfur, methane and iron.
Many theorize that photosynthesis is possible on the planet’s surface because Venus receives enough solar energy to penetrate its thick clouds.
However, Professor Dominic Papineau, an astrobiologist at the University College of London, believes that Dr Thaller’s views are ‘difficult to assume realistically’.
Speaking to MailOnline, he explained, “For life-related chemical reactions to take place, liquid water is needed. So to find extraterrestrial life we need to find liquid water, and to find extraterrestrial fossils we need to look for sedimentary rocks that were associated with liquid water in the past.
This makes life on Venus difficult to realistically imagine today, because the surface is too hot, although Venus may have had liquid water in the past.
“One problem with a possible fossil record on Venus, however, is the widespread volcanism that appears to have covered most of the surface over the past hundreds of millions of years.”
Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system with a scorching temperature of 475°C (900°F)
Venus, 67 million miles from the sun, is the hottest planet in the solar system
Still, both Professor Papineau and Dr Thaller agree that our solar system’s icy moons may also be sites of potential microbial life.
NASA suggests there are 290 “traditional moons” in our solar system — excluding 462 smaller asteroids and minor planets.
“It is more likely that we can find extraterrestrial life and/or fossils on Mars and in the icy moons of the outer solar system,” Professor Papineau continued.
“This is because liquid water exists on these planetary bodies, including in the ice at the south pole of Mars. Mars and icy moons also have geological records that could contain fossils.”
MailOnline has reached out to Dr. Thaller for comment.