“And I will give them the Morning Star“
-Revelation 2:28
Astronomers for centuries were waiting expectantly for a glimpse under the clouds of our sister planet, Venus. Theologians believed for a time the “new heaven and new earth” Apostle John described in his vision (Revelation 21:1) might be their Biblical solace promised in the here and now. They viewed it expecting to see doric columns and flying cherubs playing harps.
Fifty km above the ground, Venus cloud is a balmy 25 C and 1 atm pressure, perfect for any spores hitching a ride from Earth to pop off and begin terraforming, a process not unlike fertilization of the ovum by sperm, pictured above.
Scientists have reported that simpler life forms like bacteria, fungi and tardigrades (fondly known as the ’Water Bear’) can go into a primitive spore state and survive travel in outer space. Bacteria have been found viable after years on the moon, reactivated from first landings upon return missions, NASA relates.
Seasons have been imagined in Venus’ clouds as they appear to change colour over time. At one point they appear green. At another time purple, Dirk Schulze-Makuch reports. Could biological processes be a cause?
A good candidate is the tartigrade, as it will contain a virtual zoo in its gut - bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa. Genesis!
Entropy says organization from basic supernovae materials such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorus among others, scattered into protoplanetary clouds - into octopi and Rembrandt and the Eiffel Tower is entirely unlikely. The Second Law of Thermodynamics precludes the very tenuous organization of atoms as is required by living beings.
Yet things assemble. Magnets bring metals together. Crystals form into highly organized patterns. Gravity clumps things in general. But is it enough?
Is it enough to explain you - an intelligent congenial concoction of stardust - reading this page?