Life on Venus is a gas. Researchers recently announced they discovered phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus. This is important because phosphine on Earth is man-made or naturally occurring.
"And the reason for our excitement is that phosphine gas on Earth is made by microorganisms that live in oxygen-free environments. And so there is a chance that we have detected some kind of living organism in the clouds of Venus," said Janes Greaves of Cardiff University and lead author of the report in Nature Astronomy as reported by CBS News.
While not definitive proof of life on Venus it might lead to more investigations and then who knows?
Morning sky: Venus is still very bright rising about 3 hours before the Sun. You can’t miss her as she will be the brightest object in the morning sky.
Evening sky: Mars has now entered the evening sky rising in the east as the Sun sets. Look for a very bright red “star.” Jupiter and Saturn are up in the south-southwest at sunset at the beginning of the month. Both are in a great location and time of night for viewing. Watch as they get closer to each other from week to week and will culminate with the two gas giants being really close together in December. Uranus is in opposition at the end of the month meaning it will rise in the east as the sun sets. It gets bright enough to see with the unaided eye, but you’ll need a star chart and dark skies to find him.
Due to the coronavirus there will be no public viewings scheduled this month. If things change, we’ll post it on TAS’s events calendar (see below).
1st: Full Moon.
2nd – 3rd: Venus very close to the bright star Regulus in Leo the Lion in the morning. Moon and Mars really close together in the evening.
6th: Mars is the closest to the Earth – good time to look at it through a telescope. Moon near the bright star Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull in the morning.
10th: Last quarter Moon near the bright star Pollux in Gemini the Twins in the morning.
11th: Moon near the Beehive star cluster before sunrise.
13th: Mars in opposition.
14th: Thin crescent Moon near Venus in the morning.
16th: New Moon.
21st: Orionid meteor shower peaks in the wee hours. Moon will not be a problem.
22nd: Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn form triangle after sunset.
23rd: First quarter Moon.
29th: Moon near Mars in the evening.
31st: Second full Moon of the month falls on Halloween!
Check out TAS’s events calendar at www.stargazers.org
Ken Kopczynski is president of the Tallahassee Astronomical Society, a local group of amateur astronomers. He is the recipient of the 2013 Partners in Excellence Award presented by the Big Bend/Leon Association.
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https://www.tallahassee.com/story/life/2020/09/26/gas-venus-sparks-excitement-life-planet/3528838001/
2020-09-26 16:08:38Z
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