SCIENTISTS have discovered an unusual formation on Jupiter’s moon – and NASA says it may hold the secret to extraterrestrial life.
The bizarre pattern on the moon also resembles the spider-like entity in Stranger Things called the Mind Flayer.
Scientists have given the formation their own name, calling it Damhán Alla, a Gaelic word meaning “spider” or “wall demon.”
The “wall demon” was found on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, one of the solar system’s best chances of life outside of Earth.
It was discovered on the 13-mile-wide Manannán crater on Europa by NASA‘s Galileo spacecraft.
NASA believes that the 1.8-mile-wide pattern is not cracks in the moon’s surface, but evidence of salty liquid water, or brine, that once flowed and froze on Europa.
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The branching pattern is similar to “lake stars” on Earth, which form as water pushes up through holes in the ice and refreezes into new formations across the ice.
Scientists believe that Europa may have an active ocean beneath the moon’s crust of ice.
If the liquid from the ocean is able to break through to the surface, then the material from the ocean could reach or mix with undiscovered microbes on the surface, a new study revealed.
This mixture of salty liquid water could be the key to unlocking life on Europa, since liquid water is an essential component to life as we understand it.
“Surface features like these can tell us a lot about what’s happening beneath the ice,” said study author and physicist Lauren McKeown.
“If we see more of them with [the NASA space probe] Europa Clipper, they could point to local brine pools below the surface.”
For extraterrestrial life, scientists look to the key components that have built life on Earth: liquid water, chemical building blocks like carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and salts, and a source of energy.
NASA believes that Europa’s water has been able to avoid freezing because of the heat generated by Jupiter’s gravitational pull, which creates a tidal force on Europa much greater than that exerted on Earth’s oceans by our moon.
Scientists have found traces of the components of life on Europa’s icy surface – but believe the final piece may lie deep in the moon’s ocean.
Damhán Alla was first discovered through images taken by the Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The new research team compared the images to real lake stars at two frozen ponds in Colorado in 2022.
“Lake stars are really beautiful, and they are pretty common on snow or slush-covered frozen lakes and ponds,” McKeown said in a statement.
“It is wonderful to think that they may give us a glimpse into processes occurring on Europa and maybe even other icy ocean worlds in our solar system.”
Scientists discover possible life-creating phenomenon on Europa
NASA scientists have spotted a phenomenon that mirrors Earth’s “lake stars” on Europa, signaling the possibility of the creation of life on Jupiter’s moon.
- NASA believes that Europa has a liquid ocean beneath its crust of ice
- A study was released showing the phenomenon of “lake stars” on Jupiter’s moon – which happens on Earth when water from a frozen lake or pond pushes to the surface
- The material from the subsurface ocean could mix with undiscovered microbes on Europa’s surface
- Traces of the components of life have already been discovered on Europa’s surface
- Scientists believe that a component to life may be hidden deep in Europa’s ocean – and be brought to the surface by the “lake stars”
