All Three of Titan's Hydrocarbon Seas Occur in the North Polar Region

Summary: All three of Titan's hydrocarbon seas occur in the north polar region as a cluster, with Kraken Mare as the largest and Punga Mare as the smallest.

Near-infrared, color mosaic, obtained during Cassini spacecraft's T104 flyby of August 21, 2014, shows the sun glinting off the southern portion of Kraken Mare in the north polar region's cluster of three hydrocarbon seas on Titan; image addition date 2014-10-30; image credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/University of Idaho: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal

All three of Titan's hydrocarbon seas occur in the north polar region as a variably-sized cluster, with Kraken Mare as the largest, Ligeia Mare as the second larger and Punga Mare as the smallest.

The geological features classified as seas (Latin: mare, "sea;" maria, "seas") on Titan are defined as "large expanses of dark materials thought to be liquid hydrocarbons," according to the Descriptor Terms (Feature Types) page of The International Astronomical Union's online Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Contrastingly, a lunar mare, on Earth's moon, denotes a "low albedo, relatively smooth plain, generally of large extent," while Martian maria occur as "dark albedo areas of no known geological significance."

The Gazetteer lists three maria for Titan. Kraken Mare, Ligeia Mare and Punga Mare cluster in Titan's north polar region.

Punga Mare occurs as the most poleward of the three maria. Titan's northernmost sea lies to the north of Kraken Mare and to the west of Ligeia Mare.

Punga Mare (Latin: "sea'") is centered at 85.1 degrees north latitude, 339.7 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. It records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 89 degrees north and 82.2 degrees north, respectively. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 72 degrees west and 287 degrees west, respectively. Punga Mare's diameter measures 380 kilometers.

Punga Mare is the only Titanean sea with territory on both sides of the Saturnian moon's prime meridian, 0 degrees of longitude. The IAU-accepted planetographic coordinate system for Titan measures longitude westward from the prime meridian.

Punga Mare's territory almost evenly divides at the prime meridian. Its occupancy west of the prime meridian accounts for 72 degrees of longitude (0 to 72 degrees west). Its occurrence east of the prime meridian covers 73 degrees (287 to 360 degrees west).

Kraken Mare is located, in close proximity, to the south of Punga Mare. Kraken Mare is sited to the southwest of Ligeia Mare.

Kraken Mare is centered at 68 degrees north latitude, 310 degrees west longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch to 81 degrees north and 55 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to 274 degrees west and 335 degrees west, respectively. Kraken Mare's diameter spans 1,170 kilometers.

Kraken Mare occurs as the only Titanean sea that extends outside of the north polar region. Its southernmost extent of 55 degrees north places it in the northern hemisphere's high middle latitudes.

Ligeia Mare lies to the northeast of Kraken Mare. It occurs as Punga Mare's eastern neighbor.

Ligeia Mare is centered at 79.7 degrees north latitude, 247.9 degrees west longitude. It obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 82 degrees north and 74 degrees north, respectively. It establishes easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 222 degrees west and 276.7 degrees west, respectively. Ligeia Mare's diameter measures 500 kilometers.

Ligeia Mare is positioned as the second nearest sea to the north pole. Its northernmost extent of 82 degrees places it one degree closer to the north pole than Kraken Mare's northernmost reach of 81 degrees.

Titan's three seas differ noticeably in size. Kraken Mare's diameter, or greatest length, of 1,170 kilometers establishes it as the largest of the three seas. Ligeia Mare's diameter of 500 kilometers qualifies it as the second largest Titanean sea. Punga Mare's diameter of 380 kilometers ranks it as the smallest of the trio.

Kraken Mare's sprawl across the northern hemisphere's high latitudes doubles Ligeia Mare's coverage of the north polar region. Punga Mare is a little over one-third of Kraken Mare's size. The size differences between Ligeia Mare and Punga Mare are not as striking as their extreme smallness in comparison with Kraken Mare's immensity.

Punga Mare is the third largest body of liquid on Titan, with a surface area that is larger than that of Lake Huron, Earth's third largest freshwater body, and a diameter that is larger than the length of Lake Victoria, Earth's second largest freshwater body.

Titan's three seas derive their names from three different cultures. The Saturnian moon's seas receive their names from literary or mythic sea monsters, according to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature's page on "Categories (Themes) for Naming Features on Planets and Satellites." Norway contributed Kraken Mare's name, which was approved April 11, 2008, by the International Astronomical Union. Ligeia Mare's name, which was also approved April 11, 2008, comes from one of Greek mythology's sirens. Punga Mare's name originates with the Māori, New Zealand's indigenous Polynesians. Punga Mare's name received approval Nov. 14, 2008.

Image, obtained Sep. 11, 2017, by Cassini spacecraft's ISS (Imaging Science Subsystem) Narrow-Angle Camera with 938 nanometer infrared light wavelength-centered spectral filter, shows Titan's three maria ("seas') in the lake-splattered north polar region; image addition date 2018-09-13; image credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

Near-infrared, color mosaic, obtained during Cassini spacecraft's T104 flyby of August 21, 2014, shows the sun glinting off the southern portion of Kraken Mare in the north polar region's cluster of three hydrocarbon seas on Titan; image addition date 2014-10-30; image credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/University of Idaho: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18432

Image, obtained Sep. 11, 2017, by Cassini spacecraft's ISS (Imaging Science Subsystem) Narrow-Angle Camera with 938 nanometer infrared light wavelength-centered spectral filter, shows Titan's three maria ("seas') in the lake-splattered north polar region; image addition date 2018-09-13: image credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22481

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