The clouds of Venus appear to contain fragrant, toxic gas that can be produced by bacteria, according to a new study.

Chemical signs of gaseous phosphine have been found in observations of the Venusian atmosphere, researchers report on September 14 in Nature Astronomy. If you look at the atmosphere at millimeter wavelengths of light, the planet's clouds appear to be up to 20 parts per billion phosphines - something that could seriously produce it, say researchers.

If the discovery is made, and no other explanation for the gas is available, the nearest planet to the next house may be the first to give signs of extraterrestrial life - even if they are very large.

Jane Greaves, an astronomer at Cardiff University in Wales, said: “We are not saying this is life. "We say it's a possible sign of life."

Venus has the same mass and size as Earth, so from a distance, the neighboring planet may look like a habitable world (SN: 10/4/19). But closer, Venus is a hell of a scene where sulfuric acid rain and atmospheric pressure are suppressed.

However, Venus may have been more hospitable in recent times (SN: 8/26/16). The current harsh conditions have not stopped astronomers from speculating about key locations on Venus where today's life could hang, such as human cloud sites.