This lake is part of a larger image taken by the Cassini radar instrument
during a flyby of Saturn's moon Titan on Sept. 23, 2006. It shows clear
shorelines that are reminiscent of terrestrial lakes. With Titan's colder
temperatures and hydrocarbon-rich atmosphere, however, the lakes likely
contain a combination of methane and ethane, not water.
Centered near 74 degrees north, 65 degrees west longitude, this lake is
roughly 20 kilometers by 25 kilometers (12 to 16 miles) across. It
features several narrow or angular bays, including a broad peninsula that
on Earth would be evidence that the surrounding terrain is higher and
confines the liquid. Broader bays, such as the one seen at right, might
result when the terrain is gentler, as for example on a beach.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European
Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages
the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The
Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and
assembled at JPL. The radar instrument team is based at JPL, working with
team members from the United States and several European countries.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm.
