What Is Creating Phosphine — A Biosignature on Earth — in the Atmosphere of Venus?

“I thought we'd just be able to rule out extreme scenarios, like the Venus clouds being stuffed full of organisms. When we got the first hints of phosphine in Venus' spectrum, it was a shock!”

— Jane Greaves, Ph.D., Astronomy Group, Cardiff University School of Physics and Astronomy

“Either this Venus phosphine discovery is a mistaken identity, that we don't know what the chemical is? Or some strange chemistry that we are not aware of? Or biology.”

— Sanjay Limaye, Ph.D., Sr. Scientist, Solar System Planet Atmospheres, Space Science and Engineering Center, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison