![]() ![]() But recent research suggests it may not be suitable for alien lifeforms. Venus has long been considered one of the most likely places to host extraterrestrial life within the solar system because of its similar size to Earth and location in the sun's habitable zone. If there are trace amounts of phosphine on Venus then they likely came from lightning strikes or volcanic activity, researchers said. But the new finding is one of the most definitive yet, thanks to the massive amounts of data collected by SOFIA, and puts a final nail in the coffin for the idea of extraterrestrial life on Venus. The newfound bacteria, Sulfurimonas pluma, belongs to a family of organisms that to date had only been known from volcanic vents on Earths seafloors, as it cannot tolerate high oxygen levels in. Several other studies have tried to repeat the results of the 2020 study, researchers said in the statement. Prior to Dawns arrival, the dwarf planet Ceres was the largest unexplored world in the inner solar system. It does not rule out the possibility that the objects are. The new study is not the first to come up empty handed while looking for phosphine in Venus' atmosphere. A Pentagon report released on Friday says of 144 reports made about the phenomena since 2004, all but one remain unexplained. "The Sun is the last thing you want in the sky when you're doing these kinds of sensitive observations." NASA administrator Bill Nelson admitted the agency is probing the phenomena after a flurry of videos filmed by US Navy and Air Force personnel were leaked. "You don't want sunlight accidentally coming in and shining on your sensitive telescope instruments," study lead author Martin Cordiner (opens in new tab), an astrochemist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, said in a statement (opens in new tab). ![]() To see into Venus' atmosphere, SOFIA had to be activated within 30 minutes before sunset to avoid glare from the sun, and Venus had to be precisely oriented with Earth. It took several months for researchers to get a good glimpse of Venus' atmosphere, because SOFIA only gave the team limited opportunities to focus on the planet. (Image credit: NASA/Jim Ross) (opens in new tab) A large infrared telescope peers out of the side of the plane and into the cosmos. (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Ingenuity, which went from an improbable idea to Perseverances spaceflight buddy, has proved that a helicopter-style rover can work.
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