Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2020

4 ASTROCHEMISTRY On the local morning of September 14 th , the Royal Astronomical Society tweeted an announcement for an afternoon press briefing about a significant discovery. Within hours, “phosphine” and “Venus” were being proposed by some on social media as the discussion topic. In combination with shared links to the January 2020 Astrobiology article “Phosphine as a Biosignature Gas in Exoplanet Atmospheres,” some were already anticipating a most remarkable event. Small molecules, b detection of Venu by Damian G. Allis NASA Solar System Ambassador NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2020