{"id":238364,"date":"2026-01-17T17:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T17:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/238364\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T17:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T17:18:09","slug":"this-spider-like-pattern-on-europa-could-reveal-secrets-beneath-its-icy-shell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/238364\/","title":{"rendered":"This Spider-Like Pattern on Europa Could Reveal Secrets Beneath Its Icy Shell"},"content":{"rendered":"

The intriguing formation, named Damh\u00e1n Alla, was first observed in 1998 by the Galileo spacecraft. Scientists now suggest that the \u201casterisk-shaped\u201d pattern might have formed after an impact caused melted brine to erupt through the icy surface. These findings could have significant implications for our understanding of Europa\u2019s habitability, especially with the upcoming Europa Clipper mission scheduled to reach the moon in 2030.<\/p>\n

The Formation of Europa\u2019s Spider-Like Feature<\/p>\n

Europa\u2019s surface is known for its bizarre and striking features, many of which may be linked to subsurface liquid water. The asterisk-shaped formation in Manann\u00e1n Crater is one such feature, drawing comparisons to lake stars found on Earth. According to Dr. Lauren McKeown<\/a> of the University of Central Florida, these stars are formed when snow falls on frozen lakes and pressure creates holes in the ice, allowing water to flow through and spread into branching patterns. The team behind the new study,\u00a0published Dec. 2 in\u00a0The Planetary Science Journal<\/a>, believes that a similar process could have occurred on Europa, where a brine reservoir beneath the surface may have erupted after an impact. The melted brine would have spread through the porous ice, creating the spider-like formation visible in the crater.<\/p>\n

Field and lab experiments conducted by the team supported this theory. By recreating the conditions of Europa in a cryogenic glovebox, they found that star-like patterns formed in Europa ice simulants at temperatures as low as -100\u00b0C. These results suggest that such a mechanism could indeed be at work on Europa, where conditions are far colder than those on Earth, yet still capable of producing similar features.<\/p>\n

\"Lakes\"Lake stars on Earth: (a) melt pools in Alaska (Ned Rozell, Tohru Saito); (b,e) New Hampshire and Breckenridge, CO (Jamie Hess, author); (c,f) linear forms in Breckenridge (author); (d) dendritic lake star in Alaska (Joe Stock).<\/p>\n

Testing the Hypothesis with Earth Analogues<\/p>\n

To better understand how Europa\u2019s spider-like feature might have formed, the researchers turned to Earth <\/a>analogues, particularly the phenomenon of lake stars. These radial patterns, which occur on frozen lakes in winter, provided a model for how brine could spread across Europa\u2019s icy surface. According to Dr. McKeown, the team\u2019s experiments involved flowing water through Europa ice simulants under cold conditions, replicating what might happen on Europa following an impact. The experiments showed that even at extremely low temperatures, such as those seen on Europa, a branching, star-like pattern could form as brine spread through the ice.<\/p>\n

This work was also informed by field studies in Breckenridge, Colorado, where the team observed lake stars under real-world conditions. These observations helped refine their understanding of how temperature, ice thickness, and snow coverage influence the formation of branching features like lake stars. The experiments and field tests provided valuable data, suggesting that similar mechanisms could exist on Europa, potentially revealing more about the moon\u2019s icy surface and subsurface reservoirs.<\/p>\n

\"\u201clab\u201cLab star\u201d patterns in simulated Europa ice: (a\u2013f) star and dendritic forms in deionized and salty ice; (g\u2013i) LN\u2082 glove box setup and simulant production system. \u00a9iopscience<\/p>\n

Implications for Europa\u2019s Habitability<\/p>\n

The study of Europa\u2019s surface features goes beyond geomorphology, it\u2019s directly tied to astrobiology. Understanding how patterns like Damh\u00e1n Alla form can offer critical insights into the conditions beneath Europa\u2019s icy shell, where liquid water could harbor life. The research conducted by the team suggests that there may be subsurface brine pools that could erupt under certain conditions, releasing liquid water to the surface. This discovery provides more context for future missions like Europa Clipper, which will use high-resolution imaging to explore Europa\u2019s surface in unprecedented detail.<\/p>\n

According to Dr. Elodie Lesage <\/a>from the Planetary Science Institute, the findings from their study offer new constraints on the potential depth and longevity of Europa\u2019s subsurface brine reservoirs. The study\u2019s modeling suggests that these brine pools could lie as deep as 6 km beneath the surface and might remain active for thousands of years after an impact. This kind of activity is important for researchers searching for signs of life, as it indicates that liquid water may have been more accessible than previously thought, creating habitable environments beneath the ice.<\/p>\n

The upcoming Europa Clipper mission will help answer many of these questions, as its detailed imaging and data collection will provide a clearer picture of Europa\u2019s surface features. Scientists hope that the mission will resolve the mystery of the spider-like formation in Manann\u00e1n Crater and provide further evidence of the moon\u2019s potential for harboring life.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The intriguing formation, named Damh\u00e1n Alla, was first observed in 1998 by the Galileo spacecraft. Scientists now suggest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238365,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[111,139,69,147,392],"class_list":["post-238364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}