A photograph taken by the Cassini space probe shows a huge system of fractures that have a shape similar to a letter Y on the surface of Enceladus, Saturn’s moon become in recent years one of the most interesting objects of astronomical studies. Called “Y-shaped discontinuities”, these elements of Enceladus’ icy surface are probably relatively young revealing the existing geological activity on this moon.

At the end of 2015, the Cassini space probe performed its last Enceladus flyby but that doesn’t mean that this moon is no longer the target of any other observations. On February 15, 2016 Cassini passed at about 100,000 kilometers (60,000 miles) from Enceladus and among the photographs it took there’s this one, which provides an excellent overview of this big Y-shaped discontinuity.

According to geologists, this type of formation can be created when the surface materials push northward and compress the existing ice, sometimes moving it. It’s the product of the tectonic activity existing on the surface of Enceladus, which consequently is full of fractures. That in the image is a set of fractures and fills much of the photographed surface.

Enceladus is a rather small moon, with a diameter of only 504 kilometers (313 miles), but it’s impressive to see a fracture system so wide that cross such a large part of its surface. Behind this phenomenon there’s the planet Saturn’s gravity, which generates effects similar to those of the tides on Earth but much more pronounced, enough to deform this moon.

The fractures on the ice are a normal result of these effects but sometimes they’re really catchy such as this Y-shaped discontinuity. According to scientists, it’s a relatively young geological feature because in the whole area around it there are few impact craters.

The fact that Enceladus is geologically so active, even more than expected, is important for the presence of an underground ocean of liquid water. According to a research published in September 2015, it’s a global ocean and the geological activity on this moon suggests that in the ocean underground there may be a lot of activity as well. The consequence could be that that ocean is a primordial soup or even that there are life forms.