Ligeia Mare facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ligeia Mare

Map of Ligeia Mare by an amateur cartographer
Feature on Titan
Type	Mare
Latitude	79N
Longitude	248W
Diameter	500 km (310 mi)
Eponym	Ligeia
v t e

Comparison of Ligeia's size with Lake Superior on Earth

Ligeia Mare is a huge lake on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. It is located far north on Titan, at about 79 degrees North latitude. This amazing lake is around 500 kilometers (about 310 miles) wide!

Ligeia Mare is named after Ligeia, one of the sirens from ancient Greek mythology. Sirens were mythical creatures known for their beautiful singing. Scientists have even thought about sending a space probe called the Titan Lake In-situ Sampling Propelled Explorer to land on Ligeia Mare to study it up close.

The Solar System
Sun • Heliosphere	Planets ☾ = moon(s) ∅ = rings		Mercury	Venus	Earth ☾	Mars ☾
			Jupiter ☾ ∅	Saturn ☾ ∅	Uranus ☾ ∅	Neptune ☾ ∅
	Dwarf planets		Ceres	Pluto ☾	Haumea ☾	Makemake
			Eris ☾
	Small Solar System bodies	Asteroids (minor planets)	Groups and families: Vulcanoids · Near-Earth asteroids · Asteroid belt Jupiter Trojans · Centaurs · Neptune Trojans · Asteroid moons · Meteoroids · Pallas · Juno · Vesta · Hygiea · Interamnia · Europa
			See also the list of asteroids.
		Trans- Neptunians	Kuiper belt – Plutinos: Orcus · Ixion – Cubewanos: Varuna · Quaoar · Huya
			Scattered disc: Sedna
		Comets	Periodic comets and non-periodic comets Damocloids · Oort cloud
See also the list of solar system objects

What is Ligeia Mare?

Ligeia Mare is not filled with water like lakes on Earth. Instead, it is full of liquid hydrocarbons, mostly methane and ethane. These are similar to the natural gas we use for energy. Titan is the only place in our Solar System besides Earth that has stable bodies of liquid on its surface. This makes Ligeia Mare a very special place to study.

Exploring Titan's Lakes

Scientists use radar to study the surface of Titan because its atmosphere is very thick and cloudy. The Cassini spacecraft used radar to map Ligeia Mare. This allowed scientists to learn about its size, shape, and even its depth. Some parts of the lake are thought to be very deep, possibly over 160 meters (about 525 feet) in places.

Rivers and Lakes on Titan

Just like on Earth, Titan has rivers that flow into its lakes. One large river, called Vid Flumina, is over 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) long. It empties its liquid hydrocarbons into Ligeia Mare. This shows that Titan has a liquid cycle, similar to Earth's water cycle, but with methane and ethane instead of water.

Images for kids

• 

  Titan - Ligeia Mare - SAR and clearer despeckled views.

• 

  Map of Ligeia Mare by an amateur cartographer

• 

  Vid Flumina, a river over 400 km long that empties into Ligeia Mare

• 

  The Cassini spacecraft’s Titan Radar Mapper produced bathymetric measurements of Titan’s Ligeia Mare

See also

In Spanish: Mar de Ligeia para niños