Atlantic reporter Marina Koren writes that astronomers have detected signs of a gas produced by microorganisms in the clouds of Venus. “As crazy as it might sound, our most plausible explanation is life,” explains research scientist Clara Sousa-Silva.
Astronomers have uncovered phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, a potential sign of microbial life, reports Seth Borenstein for the AP. Prof. Sara Seager explains that she and her colleagues, “exhaustively went through every possibility and ruled all of them out: volcanoes, lightning strikes, small meteorites falling into the atmosphere. ... Not a single process we looked at could produce phosphine in high enough quantities to explain our team’s findings.”
Research scientists Clara Sousa-Silva and Janusz Petkowski speak with NPR’s Nell Greenfieldboyce about their new study that provides evidence that phosphine, a gas associated with microbial life, is present on Venus. "This is not life that we would find pleasant," says Sousa-Silva. "Then again, they probably find us disgusting."
An international team of astronomers has detected phosphine on Venus, potentially signaling signs of life in the planet’s atmosphere, reports Shannon Stirone, Kenneth Chang and Dennis Overbye for The New York Times. "This is an astonishing and ‘out of the blue’ finding,” says Prof. Sara Seager. “It will definitely fuel more research into the possibilities for life in Venus’s atmosphere.”
Los Angeles Times reporter Deborah Netburn spotlights how a team of researchers, including MIT scientists, have detected phosphine on Venus. “There are two possibilities for how it got there, and they are equally crazy,” says Prof. Sara Seager. “One scenario is it is some planetary process that we don’t know about. The other is there is some life form living in the atmosphere of Venus.”
Verge reporter Loren Grush explores how researchers from MIT and other institutions have uncovered phosphine on Venus, a potential sign of life. “That’s why this is such an extraordinary detection, because it has to come from something completely unexpected,” says research scientist Clara Sousa-Silva. “At some point, you’re left with not being able to explain it. Except we do know of a strange way of making phosphine on terrestrial planets — and that is life.”
Scientists from institutions around the world, including MIT, have found detected phosphine gas in the clouds of Venus, reports Tom Metcalfe for NBC News. “If this signal is correct, there is a process on Venus we cannot explain that produces phosphine,” says research scientist Janusz Petkowski, “and one of the hypotheses is that it’s life in the clouds of Venus.”
Axios reporter Miriam Kramer writes about a new study co-authored by MIT researchers that details the detection of phosphine, a possible signal of life, in the atmosphere of Venus. “We've done everything we can, which is go through all the things that it isn't,” says research scientist Clara Sousa-Silva. “We've thought of every possible mechanism, plausible or implausible, that could make phosphine and we cannot come up with any."
Boston 25 spotlights how scientists from LIGO and Virgo have detected what may be the most massive black hole collision yet. “The result of the black holes colliding created the first-ever observed intermediate black hole, at 142 times the mass of the sun,” reports Boston 25.
Scientists from LIGO and Virgo have detected the largest collision between two black holes to date, which appears to have created an “intermediate-mass” black hole, reports Loren Grush for The Verge. Intermediate-mass black holes, “are really the missing link between [black holes with] tens of solar masses and millions,” says Prof. Salvatore Vitale. “It was always a bit baffling that people couldn’t find anything in between.”
Gizmodo reporter George Dvorsky writes about how researchers from MIT and other institutions have detected the corona of a supermassive black hole disappearing and then reappearing. Dvorsky writes that their findings suggest this “strange episode was caused by a runaway star.”
The Economist explores how the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an MIT-led NASA mission, has identified a number of new exoplanets and, in the process, helped astronomers and scientists unearth new details about our universe. This latest discovery, according to The Economist, “will help answer some of the biggest questions in the rapidly growing science of exoplanetology.”
Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder writes for US News & World Report about the planet hunting satellite TESS, which has recently discovered three new exoplanets. "The pace and productivity of TESS in its first year of operations has far exceeded our most optimistic hopes for the mission," said Senior Research Scientist George Ricker, TESS's principal investigator.
Martin Finucane reports for The Boston Globe on the latest findings of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, “a NASA Astrophysics Explorer mission led and operated by MIT and managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center,” which hunts for exoplanets. TESS recently discovered a rocky super-Earth and two sub-Neptunes in a system known as TOI-270.
A new MIT study shows that NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered three new exoplanets in a system known as TOI-270. “The newly discovered exoplanets are some of the smallest and closest ever found,” reports Ashley Strickland for CNN. “All three planets are similar in size, which is very different from our own solar system filled with extremes.”