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Space
Space
Science
Samantha Mathewson

A spider-like scar haunts Jupiter's moon Europa — and scientists think they know why

A dendritic shaped dark spot is seen against an icy surface.

A strange, spider-like scar on Jupiter's icy moon Europa may mark where salty water once surged up through its fractured crust.

NASA's Galileo spacecraft (whose mission ended in 2003) spotted the unique feature — officially named Damhán Alla, an Irish word meaning "spider" or "wall demon" — within Europa's Manannán crater. The starburst-like pattern first appeared in images captured by the spacecraft in the late 1990s, but scientists are only now piecing together how it may have formed, according to a statement from Trinity College Dublin.

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