The Aliens Next Door

Martians, E.T., and Megamind are some of the big names that pop into our heads when we think about aliens. But what about the words ‘Venus’ and ‘phosphine’?

One of the most popular headlines of the week was the discovery of phosphine (PH3) in Venus’ atmosphere. Phosphine is already known to astronomers and present in Earth’s own atmosphere, but only due to industrial and microbial activity. This points to potential life on our neighbouring planet.

But is life the only explanation for phosphine on Venus and what are the next research steps we need to take to get closer to the truth?

2SER Breakfast investigates the aliens next door with Maria Cunningham from the University of New South Wales’ School of Physics.