 Titan's "kissing lakes", Abaya Lacus, as viewed by Cassini's synthetic aperture radar. | |
| Feature type | Lacus |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 73°12′N45°36′W / 73.2°N 45.6°W Coordinates: 73°12′N45°36′W / 73.2°N 45.6°W |
| Diameter | 65 km [note 1] |
| Eponym | Lake Abaya |
Abaya Lacus is one of a number of hydrocarbon lakes found on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. [1]
The lakes of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, 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 (seas) and the small ones as lacūs (lakes).
Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the second-largest natural satellite in the Solar System. It is the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object in space, other than Earth, where clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid have been found.
The lake is composed of liquid methane and ethane, [2] and was detected by the Cassini space probe.
A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter, and is the only state with a definite volume but no fixed shape. A liquid is made up of tiny vibrating particles of matter, such as atoms, held together by intermolecular bonds. Water is, by far, the most common liquid on Earth. Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Most liquids resist compression, although others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly constant density. A distinctive property of the liquid state is surface tension, leading to wetting phenomena.
Methane ( or ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CH4 (one atom of carbon and four atoms of hydrogen). It is a group-14 hydride and the simplest alkane, and is the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Earth makes it an attractive fuel, although capturing and storing it poses challenges due to its gaseous state under normal conditions for temperature and pressure.
Ethane is an organic chemical compound with chemical formula C
2H
6. At standard temperature and pressure, ethane is a colorless, odorless gas. Like many hydrocarbons, ethane is isolated on an industrial scale from natural gas and as a petrochemical by-product of petroleum refining. Its chief use is as feedstock for ethylene production.
Abaya Lacus is located at coordinates 73.17°N and 45.55°W on Titan's globe and is 65 km in length. [note 1] It is named after Lake Abaya in Ethiopia. [1]
North is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. North is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east.
A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve similar purposes to maps, but unlike maps, do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A globe of Earth is called a terrestrial globe. A globe of the celestial sphere is called a celestial globe.
