STARSET_MirrorVenus Might Host Life, New Discovery Suggests
There is something funky going on in the clouds of Venus. Telescopes have detected unusually high concentrations of the molecule phosphine—a stinky, flammable chemical typically associated with feces, farts and rotting microbial activity—in an atmospheric layer far above the planet’s scorching surface.
金星的大气层中好像有非同寻常的迹象。望远镜探测到了异常高浓度的磷化氢分子，这是一种有恶臭且易燃的化学物质，（在地球）通常与粪便、屁和腐生微生物活动有关。
The finding is curious because here on Earth, phosphine is essentially always associated with living creatures, either as a by-product of metabolic processes or of human technology such as industrial fumigants and methamphetamine labs. Although toxic to many organisms, the molecule has been singled out as a potentially unambiguous signature of life because it is so difficult to make through ordinary geological or atmospheric action.
这一发现令人感到好奇，因为在地球上，磷化氢基本上一直与生命相关联，它们是代谢过程或人类技术（例如工业熏蒸剂和甲基苯丙胺实验室）的副产品。 它许多生物有毒，但由于很难通过普通的地质或大气作用制造该分子，因此该分子已被选作生命的明确标识。
Swathed in sulfuric acid clouds and possessing oppressive surface pressures and temperatures hot enough to melt lead, Venus is a hellish world. But the particular cloud layer where the phosphine is present happens to be relatively balmy, with ample sunlight and Earth-like atmospheric pressure and temperature. The results will have to be carefully vetted by the scientific community. Yet they seem likely to spark renewed interest in exploring our sister planet next door.
金星笼罩在硫酸云中，表面压力和温度高到足以熔化铅，是一个地狱般的世界。 但是存在磷化氢的特定云层恰好相对温和，具有充足的阳光和类似地球的大气压力和温度。 这项研究的结果仍待科学界审查，然而，这似乎有可能引起人们对探索金星这个邻家姊妹星球的兴趣。
Read more at Scientific American
翻译：Starset Mirror翻译组
审核：Starset Mirror翻译组
