Was Venus surrogate mother for Earth?

William Atkins
Saturday, 26 July 2008 20:34

Science - Space

Further statements in their abstract claim, “During inferior conjunctions that coincide with transits of the planet Venus this comet-like tail intersects the Earth’s magnetopause and injects aerosol particles. Data from ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft and from SOHO are used to discuss the ingress of bacteria from Venus into the Earth’s atmosphere, which we estimate as 1011–1013 cells for each transit event.”

Thus, an inferior conjunction would have the Sun located at one end of a straight line, Venus in the middle, and the Earth positioned at the other end, so that the solar wind blows past Venus, picks up microorganisms from its atmosphere, and carries them to Earth.

Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is about 67 million miles (108 million kilometers) from the Sun, while the Earth, the third planet from the Sun, is about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers).

Currently, the Venusian atmosphere consists of about 96% carbon dioxide and 3% nitrogen, while the atmosphere of Earth is about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases.

Professor Wickramasinghe states, "Venus and Earth have often been referred to as sisters because of their geological similarities. Our research proposes that the two sisters may be biologically interconnected as well." [Cardiff University: “Men are from Earth, Microbes are from Venus…?”]

However, not all planetary scientists agree with the Wickramasinghe- Wickramasinghe study. In a BBC News article, Oxford University planetary scientist Fred Taylor says that the scenario where microbes are carried from Venus to Earth on the solar wind is “most unlikely.”

Taylor states, "The idea of life on Venus, particularly the clouds where the temperature and pressure are similar to the Earth, has been floated around for a while but is not really very likely.” [BBC News: “Life from Venus blown to Earth?”]

Venus has, in the past, been considered by planetary scientists as a planet that could have been conducive to life. Whether that possible life was sent to Earth by the Sun is only a theory right now. Scientists such as Professor Wickramasinghe and Dr. Wickramasinghe are among those researching that possibility.