Its spider-like feature was first observed by NASA’s Galileo mission, which lasted between 1989 and 2003, during which the spacecraft performed 11 flybys of Europa. For the study, Mc Keown’s team compared Damhán Alla, which is roughly a kilometer across, with similar formations on Earth called lake stars, sometimes called ice stars. Scientists call these patterns dendritic, and that they’re seeing such patterns on Europa’s surface suggest another sign of water breaking through its surface. “Lake stars are really beautiful, and they are pretty common on snow or slush-covered frozen lakes and ponds,” Mc Keown said. “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.”More on space: Mysterious Interstellar Object Now Approaching Earth