Punga Mare

Coordinates: 85°N 340°W / 85°N 340°W / 85; -340
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Punga Mare
synthetic aperture radar images of Titan's north polar region. A northern extension of Kraken Mare enters the view at lower right.
Feature typeMare
Coordinates85°N 340°W / 85°N 340°W / 85; -340
Diameter380 km[note 1]
EponymPunga

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. ^
    USGS Astrogeology Science Center
    . Retrieved 2012-03-16.
  2. ISSN 0084-6597
    .

External links