Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Ligeia Mare


Ligeia Mare, shown here in a false-color image from the international Cassini mission, is the second largest known body of liquid on Saturn's moon Titan, and it is one of the many seas and lakes that bejewel Titan's north polar region. It measures roughly 420 km x 350 km, and its shorelines extend for over 3,000 km. It is filled with liquid hydrocarbons, such as ethane and methane. Cassini has yet to observe waves on Ligeia Mare, and will look again during its next encounter on May 23, 2013.

The mosaic shown here is composed from synthetic aperture radar images from flybys between February 2006 and April 2007.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/Cornell

Note: For more information, see Forecast for Titan: Wild Weather Could be Ahead.

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