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Venusian Climate May Have Been Habitable

Posted by michael on from the goggles-do-nothing dept.

tqft writes "Venus - life signs maybe - 'The hellish climate of Venus may have arisen far more recently than previously supposed, suggests new research. If so, pleasant Earth-like conditions probably persisted for two billion years after the planet's birth - plenty of time for life to have developed.' Mars is for wimps afraid of a real hot acid drenched challenge."

4 of 60 comments (clear)

  1. Focusing on Earth-like... by feidaykin · · Score: 5, Interesting
    We've found that microbes can survive inside devices that have been sitting on the freaking moon for an extended period of time, organisms can survive in the depths of Earths oceans at temperatures of 250F, yet we still believe that all life needs an Earth-like environment?

    We have no real evidence of this... I don't think it is fair to rule out any chance of finding life in extreme places.

    Venus may be our hell, but isn't it possible that somewhere in the universe, organisims exist that would thrive there?

    --

    "To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." -Stephen Hawking

    1. Re:Focusing on Earth-like... by yasth · · Score: 5, Informative

      Oxygen is a dangerous poison. Most early life (and lots still extant) not only do not need oxygen but are harmed by oxygen. Early life was probably based on hot methane plumes in the Earth's oceans, which is not dependent upon the sun, nor on oxygen.

      --
      I'd do something interesting, but my server can't handle a slashdotting.
  2. Re:From the article by GreenHell · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There's actually a Philip K. Dick story like that.
    Earth has been overmined, etc, and the environment is in a state of ruin. Humans send astronauts to Mars in the hopes of finding it habitable so that they can move their entire civilisation there.

    Once there it's discovered that an ancient race destroyed Mars and moved their entire civilisation to a new planet they had found, a veritable Eden, where the technology failed and they reverted back to a Stone Age civilisation.
    Unfortunately the astronauts can't find where this planet is, as all the equipment seems to have malfunctioned and is locked on Earth. (Well, all except one, who realises the significance of this fact, thereby giving the story its point.)

    Can't remember the name of it or which collection it's in. Anyone?

    --
    "I won't mod you down - I feel the need to call you a twit explicitly, rather than by implication."
  3. Re:Question about plate tectonics by Baikala · · Score: 5, Informative

    The rapid heat exchange between magma and water allows the slow but stedy rock 'generation' process that pushes the tectotic placs apart from each other

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    16,777,216 comments ought to be enough for any forum!