Microbes on Venus
Last year I went to a meeting
Of the Division of Planetary Sciences
And heard a talk about microbes
Floating in the clouds of sulfuric acid on Venus.
The speaker said the biomass of microbes
Was equal to the
Biomass of fish in Earth’s oceans.
No one in the audience laughed,
And the speaker appeared to be serious,
So I think
It was not a joke.
And now phosphine – a biomarker –
Has been discovered in Venus’s atmosphere.
So I wonder
What does life look like to a microbe on Venus?
Clouds so dense you never see the sun,
Ninety atmospheres of pressure, and
Temperatures hot enough to melt lead.
Does the sulfuric acid droplet it lives in
seem like a warm, cozy bath
Or a cooling drink of pure water?
Does the ninety atmospheres of pressure
Seem like a refreshing breeze?
And a temperature hot enough to melt lead –
Does it seem just warm and cozy?
What does life look like to a microbe on Venus?
Barbara
Whitten
Barbara Whitten (bwhitten@coloradocollege.edu),
Professor Emerita of Physics at Colorado College, is spending her
retirement learning about planetary science.
She has read and loved science fiction since high school. Almost
as long as she has practiced and loved physics.
Art
by Briget Heidmous: https://www.briget-heidmous.com/
