A fascinating scar on Jupiter’s moon, Europa, resembles a spider and could mark where salty water once surged through its icy crust. This feature, named Damhán Alla—an Irish term for “spider”—was spotted by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft, which concluded its mission in 2003. It appeared in images from the late 1990s, but scientists are just beginning to understand its origins, according to research from Trinity College Dublin.
The spider-like pattern includes branching ridges and troughs, showing similarities to “lake stars” on Earth. Lake stars occur when snow covers frozen lakes and water flows upward through cracks in the ice, creating delicate patterns. Scientists believe Europa’s features might form similarly, with salty water erupting beneath its ice after some impact, temporarily flowing before freezing again. This could indicate pockets of liquid water beneath the surface, hinting at the potential for life on Europa.
Lauren McKeown, the study’s lead author, expressed excitement about these findings. She pointed out that surface features like Damhán Alla can reveal much about what’s happening below the ice. “If we see more of them with the Europa Clipper mission, they could indicate local brine pools below the surface,” she noted.
Historically, the study of icy worlds has gained traction in the past two decades. As scientists learn more about places like Europa, they increasingly see their potential for harboring life. Recent surveys have shown that public interest in extraterrestrial life is high, with a 2021 Pew Research survey indicating that about 70% of Americans believe there’s intelligent life beyond Earth.
Future missions like the Europa Clipper, set to arrive in April 2030, could provide clearer images and critical data about these intriguing features, potentially enhancing our understanding of Europa’s ice-covered ocean and its hidden mysteries.
Such discoveries remind us that our solar system is full of surprises, and the mechanisms at play on icy celestial bodies may reflect the complex interactions happening right here on Earth. The study of features like Damhán Alla not only informs us about Europa but also deepens our knowledge about the processes present in icy environments throughout the universe.
For more detailed reading on these findings, you can visit the Planetary Science Journal where the research was published on December 2.
