PhotosLocation


Punga_Mare Latitude and Longitude:

85°N 340°W / 85°N 340°W / 85; -340
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Punga Mare
Punga Mare from a false-color mosaic of synthetic aperture radar images of Titan's north polar region. A northern extension of Kraken Mare enters the view at lower right.
Feature typeMare
Coordinates 85°N 340°W / 85°N 340°W / 85; -340
Diameter380 km [note 1]
Eponym Punga

Punga Mare /ˈpʌŋə/[ citation needed] is a lake in the north polar region of Titan, the planet Saturn's largest moon. After Kraken Mare and Ligeia Mare, it is the third largest known body of liquid on Titan. [1] It is composed of liquid hydrocarbons (mainly methane and ethane). Located almost adjacent to the north pole at 85.1° N, 339.7° W, it measures roughly 380 km (236 mi) across, [1] [note 1] greater than the length of Lake Victoria on Earth. Its surface area is ~61,000 km2 (23,522 sq. mi). [2] Its namesake is Punga, in Māori mythology ancestor of sharks, rays and lizards and a son of Tangaroa, the god of the sea. [1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b The USGS web site gives the size as a "diameter", but it is actually the length in the longest dimension.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Titan maria". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Science Center. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
  2. ^ Hayes, Alexander G. (2016-06-29). "The Lakes and Seas of Titan". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 44 (1): 57–83. Bibcode: 2016AREPS..44...57H. doi: 10.1146/annurev-earth-060115-012247. ISSN  0084-6597.

External links