# Phosphine varies with altitude and time, destroyed by sunlight high up and more abundant within the clouds,…

> Still possible: Phosphine varies with altitude and time, destroyed by sunlight high up and more abundant within the clouds, so the limits and detections…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/venus-phosphine/answers/ANS0CQY21AG099B/phosphine-varies-with-altitude-and-time-destroyed-by  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Phosphine in the clouds of Venus](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/venus-phosphine)[Can the claimed phosphine be reconciled with the upper limits from other instruments?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/venus-phosphine/questions/QST0CQY1TZC4EZE/can-the-claimed-phosphine-be-reconciled-with-the-upper)Answer

Answer · Phosphine in the clouds of Venus

# Phosphine varies with altitude and time, destroyed by sunlight high up and more abundant within the clouds,…

Phosphine varies with altitude and time, destroyed by sunlight high up and more abundant within the clouds, so the limits and detections sample different conditions.

**Still possible** Answers **1** questionPublished0

## Where it stands

**Still possible** Its tests haven't settled it: two pieces of evidence for, none against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- Detections cluster at particular local solar times or epochs.
- Abundance rises with depth into the clouds.

## What would rule it out

- Repeated non-detections by sensitive instruments at the times and depths where detections are claimed.

## Evidence 2 for · none against

[Independent measurements suggest under about 5 ppb above 60 km and up to about 100 ppb near 50 km.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/venus-phosphine/evidence/EVD0CQY21JA7WXZ/independent-measurements-suggest-under-about-5-ppb-above-60)

Speculative

FOR

[JCMT-Venus finds SO2 and H2O vary over years and with local solar time.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/venus-phosphine/evidence/EVD0CQY21T436MQ/jcmt-venus-finds-so2-and-h2o-vary-over-years-and-with-local)

Suggestive

FOR

## The questions it answers

[Can the claimed phosphine be reconciled with the upper limits from other instruments?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/venus-phosphine/questions/QST0CQY1TZC4EZE/can-the-claimed-phosphine-be-reconciled-with-the-upper)

Part of [If the line is real, is it phosphine or sulphur dioxide?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/venus-phosphine/questions/QST0CQY1TQJ1W8Q/if-the-line-is-real-is-it-phosphine-or-sulphur-dioxide)

Most likelyThe upper limits exclude phosphine at the claimed levels

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Phosphine varies with altitude and time, destroyed by sunlight high up and more abundant within the clouds,… [Answer ANS0CQY21AG099B]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0CQY21AG099B
```

Key

**ANS** 0CQY21AG099B

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Origin

Published

Version

1

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