A fascinating new discovery has emerged from Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. A team of scientists from Ireland has identified a striking feature on the moon’s surface that resembles a spider—hence the name “Damhán Alla,” which translates to “spider” in Gaelic. This finding offers a glimpse into the potential activity beneath Europa’s icy exterior.
According to their research published in The Planetary Science Journal, these spider-like formations may be signs of water shooting through the moon’s icy crust. Lead author Lauren Mc Keown, a physicist at the University of Central Florida, highlighted the importance of these features. “They can tell us a lot about what’s happening beneath the ice,” she said. The team’s work may provide insights into underground saltwater reservoirs, especially as NASA’s Europa Clipper probe approaches its destination.
Europa is a particularly exciting place for astronomers. This moon, smaller than Earth’s moon, is believed to have a salty ocean beneath its thick ice, making it a prime candidate for finding extraterrestrial life. Features like Damhán Alla were first spotted during NASA’s Galileo mission from 1989 to 2003, which conducted several flybys of Europa.
Mc Keown’s team compared Damhán Alla to ice formations on Earth known as lake stars. These occur when snow falls on frozen lakes, leading to holes that allow water to flow and create branching patterns. On Europa, similar patterns suggest that water might be breaking through the ice. This points to the presence of briny water located just under the outer layer.
Experts are excited about the implications. According to a recent study from NASA, spotting more of these features could confirm that Europa has a vast underground ocean. This aligns with previous research indicating that multiple ocean worlds exist in our solar system, raising further questions about the potential for life beyond Earth.
Getting a better understanding of these geological features on Europa could open doors to exploring our solar system’s mysteries. As Mc Keown beautifully put it, lake stars “may give us a glimpse into processes occurring on Europa and maybe even other icy ocean worlds.”
For those curious to learn more about new findings in space exploration, check out articles like this one on NASA’s ongoing research.
