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Astronomers Announce Possible Sign of Life on Venus

VOA News

   An international team of astronomers Monday announced the discovery of
   a rare gas molecule -- phosphine -- in the clouds of Venus, which may
   be the first solid evidence of extraterrestrial life in the solar
   system.

   The researchers say on Earth, phosphine is only made industrially or by
   microbes that thrive in oxygen-free environments. The international
   team, which includes researchers from Britain, the U.S. and Japan,
   published their findings in two papers -- the science journal Nature on
   Monday, and Astrobiology journal on Saturday.

   Phosphine was first spotted in observations that were made by Cardiff
   University astronomer Jane Greaves using the James Clerk Maxwell
   Telescope (JCMT) in Hawaii. The discovery was then confirmed using a
   more sensitive radio telescope, the Atacama Large
   Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile.

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