The hellish chemistry of Venus’ atmosphere
The potential presence of phosphine on Venus is only the latest twist in the strange chemistry of our planetary neighbour, finds Clare Sansom
Contemplating Venus’ cool light and the imagery of the ‘planet of Love’ that has echoed through the centuries, poets would never imagine the extraordinary hostility of the environment at its surface. These apocalyptic conditions, with temperatures of over 450°C, an atmospheric pressure over 90 times that on Earth, exceptional acidity and no liquid water, are many times harsher than those needed to immediately fry even the hardiest of the Earth’s extremophile bacteria.