Victor Tsai
Geophysicist and researcher who studied lake stars, created laboratory experiments to reproduce them, and co-authored work relating similar patterns to features on Jupiter's moon Europa.
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Mar 13, 2026 • 12min
An icy mystery: What are lake stars?
Victor Tsai, a geophysicist who recreated lake stars in the lab and linked them to features on Europa, explains the curious star-shaped patterns. He describes how slushy snow, thin ice and upwelling warm water carve branching channels. He also compares Earth’s lake stars to spider-like features on Jupiter’s moon and what that could mean for near-surface water there.
