"A recent satellite image of the surface of Venus has revealed a shocking discovery -- what appears to be vegetation on the arid planet's surface. The image, part of a collective database of Venus images taken in 2007 by the satellite Charger, has astronomers dumbfounded.

"If this really is vegetation," says Chris Tolmin, head of the NASA Satellite Imagery Division, "then this would challenge us to rethink what we thought we know about Venus and further investigate."

Venus, the second planet from the sun, was once imagined to be host to a very Earth-like environment, that is, until satellites penetrated its thick atmosphere and revealed the dry and hot surface beneath.

"Venus as a planet is like a giant oven," says astronomer Robert Cline. "Previously we would have thought no possible plant life could have existed there... but with the surfacing of this image, the scientific community will have to consider the possibility of alien plant-life."

What is most exciting about this image is that it potentially gives proof of life on Venus. "And where there is plant-life, there is probably more complex forms of life as well," explains Cline.

Currently, the image is being analyzed and the world anticipates proof that there is life on Venus."

-From CNN.com

Wow.

-Dr. K