Ligeia Mare
Encyclopedia
Ligeia Mare is a lake
located on Titan
, the planet Saturn
's largest moon. It is bigger then Lake Superior
on Earth. It is composed of liquid hydrocarbons (mainly methane
) located at 79.0° N, 248.0° W, measuring roughly 500km (300mi) in diameter and with surface area of about ~100,000km2. It is named after Ligeia, one of the siren
s in Greek mythology.
Ligeia Mare is the primary target for the Titan Mare Explorer
, a proposed lander mission which would navigate the lake.
Lakes of Titan
The Lakes of Titan, a moon of Saturn, are bodies of liquid ethane and methane that have been detected by the Cassini–Huygens space probe, and had been suspected long before. The large ones are known as maria and the small ones as lacūs .-History:The possibility that there were hydrocarbon seas on...
located on Titan
Titan (moon)
Titan , or Saturn VI, is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found....
, the planet Saturn
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
's largest moon. It is bigger then Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
on Earth. It is composed of liquid hydrocarbons (mainly methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
) located at 79.0° N, 248.0° W, measuring roughly 500km (300mi) in diameter and with surface area of about ~100,000km2. It is named after Ligeia, one of the siren
Siren
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
s in Greek mythology.
Ligeia Mare is the primary target for the Titan Mare Explorer
Titan Mare Explorer
Titan Mare Explorer is a proposed spacecraft lander that, if launched, would probe Titan, the largest moon of the planet Saturn, and would perform the first exploration of an extraterrestrial sea...
, a proposed lander mission which would navigate the lake.