Lakes of Titan
Videos
Lakes of liquid ethane and methane exist on the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. This was confirmed by the Cassini–Huygens space probe, as had been suspected since the 1980s. The large bodies of liquid are known as maria (seas) and the small ones as lacūs (lakes).
False-color, medium-resolution Cassini synthetic aperture radar mosaic of Titan's north polar region, showing hydrocarbon seas, lakes and tributary networks. Blue coloring indicates low radar reflectivity areas, caused by bodies of liquid ethane, methane and dissolved nitrogen. Kraken Mare, the largest sea on Titan, is at lower left. Ligeia Mare is the large body below the pole, and Punga Mare at half its size is just left of the pole. White areas have not been imaged.
Titan lakes (September 11, 2017)
Size comparison of Ligeia Mare with Lake Superior.
Vid Flumina, a 400-kilometer-long (250 mi) river emptying into Ligeia Mare (in lower right corner of top image).
Kraken Mare
Videos
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.
Synthetic aperture radar image (top) overlaid onto a visible light/infrared image of Titan's north polar region, showing the full extent of Kraken Mare.
Radar image showing the northern portion of Kraken Mare, including the large island Mayda Insula.
Radar image of a portion of Kraken Mare with a rugged coastline and numerous islands.