Mackay Lacus

Last updated
Mackay Lacus
Liquid lakes on titan.jpg
False-color Cassini radar image of hydrocarbon lakes on Titan (2006), showing Mackay Lacus at upper left.
Feature typeLacus
Coordinates 78°19′N97°32′W / 78.32°N 97.53°W / 78.32; -97.53 Coordinates: 78°19′N97°32′W / 78.32°N 97.53°W / 78.32; -97.53
Diameter180 km [note 1]
Eponym Lake Mackay

Mackay Lacus is the seventh largest of a number of hydrocarbon seas and lakes found on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. The lake is composed of liquid methane and ethane, [1] and was detected by the Cassini space probe.

Mackay Lacus is located at coordinates 78.32°N and 97.53°W on Titan's globe and is 180 km in length. [2] [note 1] It is named after Lake Mackay in Western Australia. [2]

Notes

  1. 1 2 The USGS web site gives the size as a "diameter", but it is actually the length in the longest dimension.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Mackay</span> Ephemeral salt lake in Western Australia and Northern Territory, Australia

Lake Mackay, known as Wilkinkarra to the Indigenous Pintupi people, is the largest of hundreds of ephemeral salt lakes scattered throughout the Pilbara and northern parts of the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It is located within the Great Sandy Desert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ontario Lacus</span> Lake on Titan

Ontario Lacus is a lake composed of methane, ethane and propane near the south pole of Saturn's moon Titan. Its character as a hydrocarbon lake was confirmed by observations from the Cassini spacecraft, published in the 31 July 2008 edition of Nature. Ontario Lacus has a surface area of about 15,000 square kilometers (5,800 sq mi), about 20% smaller than its terrestrial namesake, Lake Ontario in North America. In April 2012, it was announced that it may be more like a mudflat or salt pan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Trichonida</span> Body of water

Lake Trichonida is the largest natural lake in Greece. It is situated in the eastern part of Aetolia-Acarnania, southeast of the city of Agrinio and northwest of Nafpaktos. It covers an area of 98.6 square kilometres (38.1 sq mi) with a maximum length of 19 kilometres (12 mi). Its surface elevation is 15 metres (49 ft) and its maximum depth is 58 metres (190 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakes of Titan</span> Hydrocarbon lakes on Titan, a moon of Saturn

Lakes of ethane and methane on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, 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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kraken Mare</span> Largest hydrocarbon lake on Titan

Kraken Mare is the largest known body of liquid on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. It was discovered by the space probe Cassini in 2006, and was named in 2008 after the Kraken, a legendary sea monster. It covers an area slightly bigger than the Caspian Sea on Earth, making it the largest known lake in the Solar System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ligeia Mare</span> Sea on Titan

Ligeia Mare is a lake in the north polar region of Titan, the planet Saturn's largest moon. It is the second largest body of liquid on the surface of Titan, after Kraken Mare. Larger than Lake Superior on Earth, it is mostly composed of liquid methane, with unknown but lesser components of dissolved nitrogen and ethane, as well as other organic compounds. It is located at 78° N, 249° W, and has been fully imaged by the Cassini spacecraft. Measuring roughly 420 km (260 mi) by 350 km (217 mi) across, it has a surface area of about 126,000 km2, and a shoreline over 2,000 km (1,240 mi) in length. The lake may be hydrologically connected to the larger Kraken Mare. Its namesake is Ligeia, one of the sirens in Greek mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punga Mare</span> Lake on Titan

Punga Mare 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. It is composed of liquid hydrocarbons. Located almost adjacent to the north pole at 85.1° N, 339.7° W, it measures roughly 380 km (236 mi) across, greater than the length of Lake Victoria on Earth. Its surface area is ~61,000 km2. Its namesake is Punga, in Māori mythology ancestor of sharks, rays and lizards and a son of Tangaroa, the god of the sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jingpo Lacus</span> Lake on Titan

Jingpo Lacus is a lake in the north polar region of Titan, the planet Saturn's largest moon. It and similarly sized Ontario Lacus are the largest known bodies of liquid on Titan after the three maria. It is composed of liquid hydrocarbons. It is west of Kraken Mare at 73° N, 336° W, roughly 240 km long, similar to the length of Lake Onega on Earth. Its namesake is Jingpo Lake, a lake in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abaya Lacus</span> Lake on Titan

Abaya Lacus is one of a number of hydrocarbon lakes found on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolsena Lacus</span> Lake on Titan

Bolsena Lacus is one of a number of hydrocarbon lakes found on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neagh Lacus</span> Lake on Titan

Neagh Lacus is one of a number of hydrocarbon lakes found on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. The lake is composed of liquid methane and ethane, and was detected by the Cassini space probe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sotonera Lacus</span> Lake on Titan

Sotonera Lacus is one of a number of hydrocarbon lakes found on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammar Lacus</span> Lake on Titan

Hammar Lacus is one of a number of hydrocarbon seas and lakes found on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feia Lacus</span> Lake on Titan

Feia Lacus is one of a number of hydrocarbon seas and lakes found on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. It was named in 2007 on the basis of data taken by the space probe Cassini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koitere Lacus</span> Lake on Titan

Koitere Lacus is one of a number of hydrocarbon lakes found on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. The lake is composed of liquid methane and ethane, and was detected by the space probe Cassini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Müggel Lacus</span> Lake on Titan

Müggel Lacus is one of a number of hydrocarbon seas and lakes found on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ladoga Lacus</span> Geographical feature on Titan, moon of Saturn

Ladoga Lacus is a geographical feature on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, named after Lake Ladoga, Russia. It is one of a number of "methane lakes" found in Titan's north polar region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sionascaig Lacus</span> Lake on Titan

Sionascaig Lacus is one of a number of hydrocarbon seas and lakes found on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. The lake is located at latitude 41.52°S and longitude 278.12°W on Titan's globe, and is composed of liquid methane and ethane. The feature is named for the Earth lake, Loch Sionascaig, in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albano Lacus</span> Lake on Titan


Albano Lacus is one of a number of hydrocarbon lakes found on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

References

  1. Coustenis, A.; Taylor, F. W. (21 July 2008). Titan: Exploring an Earthlike World. World Scientific. pp. 154–155. ISBN   978-981-281-161-5.
  2. 1 2 "Mackay Lacus". USGS Astrogeology Science Center. USGS . Retrieved 2013-12-28.