Will Venus reveal that there is ‘something’ out there? Let our expert explain

The scientific world is abuzz and it’s all because of a recent discovery around Venus.

Just this week, an international team of astronomers detected the chemical compound phosphine in the atmosphere of the planet that is second from the sun.

The breaking news has many looking toward the sky and speculating what it all might mean.

“This discovery is interesting because phosphine can be a tracer for microbial life on other worlds and life is the only known explanation for what we know about Venus,” says Shannon Schmoll, the director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University. “However, the detection overall is faint and Venus is a world with many unknowns. So, if the detection is indeed confirmed, then we need to first rule out there aren't some other unknown processes that could result in this gas first before we can say there are indeed alien microbes out there. Either way, there's something strange going on in Venus's atmosphere that scientists need to figure out and warrants further exploration.”

There’s a lot still to find out and a lot more to be understood about this most recent discovery, and if you are a journalist looking to cover this emerging story – then let our experts help with your questions and stories.

Shannon Schmoll is the Director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University. She is an expert on basic astronomy, naked-eye astronomy, eclipses, constellations, night sky and is available to speak to media regarding this story – simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.