Venus is still a prominent morning object
Venus as an evening star was known to the ancients as Hesperus and as a morning star, Phosphorus. It is a happy coincidence that evidence of phosphine (three atoms of hydrogen to one of phosphorus in each molecule) has been published by a team at Cardiff University while Venus is bright in our morning skies. The compound exists only as a result of biological (including human) activity on earth, but the possibility that there is something peculiar about the chemistry in the atmosphere of Venus cannot be ruled out. There is only one thing for it: another probe will have to be sent to our celestial neighbour to scoop a sample from those sulphuric acid clouds.
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