10 Places Most Likely To Harbour Alien Life

Venus is perhaps a slightly surprising candidate in the search for alien life. Despite the fact that it is one of our closest neighbours in the solar system, and in some ways very similar to our planet Earth, the surface of Venus remains something of a mystery to us due to its impenetrably thick atmosphere.

It is generally thought that due to the searing temperatures of over 450°C and the choking sulphurous atmosphere, the surface of Venus would be dead and sterile. However, more recently, astrobiologists have begun to consider the possibility of life existing in the slightly cooler upper atmosphere.

Here on Earth we have a belt of microbes and insects constantly in orbit in the upper reaches of our atmosphere so it's not actually that wild of an idea that something similar could occur on a planet with an atmosphere as thick as Venus's.

As well as this, the composition of the Venusian atmosphere might actually indicate the presence of organic life. There are certain molecules there such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) that shouldn't really occur together unless something is producing them, something organic.

All of this put together makes it conceivable that the clouds of Venus could indeed be an unlikely ark for life in the universe.