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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – “February” is named after the Latin term “Februum,” which means purification.
February is the transition between the brilliant constellations of winter and the more subdued constellations of Spring.
In our columns for December and January we discussed the bright showpiece constellations: Taurus the Bull, Auriga the Charioteer, Orion the Hunter, Gemini the Twins, and the hunting dogs Canis Major and Canis Minor.
For February we will explore two much fainter star patterns: Cancer the Crab and Lynx.
Cancer is one of the 12 constellations that comprise the zodiac. Astrology buffs will recognize Cancer as being the fourth sign of the Zodiac. Anyone born between June 22 and July 22 is under this sign.
Cancer is an ancient constellation. In Greek mythology, Cancer represents the crab that bit Hercules on the foot while he was battling the Hydra.
The stars that comprise Cancer are faint, making it hard to see. In the center of Cancer is the Praesepe, or BeeHive star cluster. This is a nice object for a small telescope.
Even fainter than Cancer is Lynx. This is a relatively new constellation created by the 17th century astronomer Johannes Hevelius.
So faint is this constellation he named it Lynx after the expression “Lynx-eyed,” referring to one with exceptional eyesight, which is what is needed to find this constellation.
Our graphic of Lynx shows the degree of imagination needed to create an animal out of this pattern of stars.
To compensate for the faint constellations we have explored in February, there is Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun, and the largest planet in our Solar System. Jupiter is the brightest object in the February skies, shining brightly overhead.
Unlike our Earth, which is solid, Jupiter is a giant ball of gas. The gas is about 90 percent hydrogen and 10 percent helium.
Jupiter spins almost twice as fast as does our Earth. Violent storms occur in the upper atmosphere. The rapid rotation makes these storms appear as belts across the planet.
Jupiter has at least 63 moons, the most of any planet.
Through a telescope of any size, Jupiter is a wonderful object to view.
John Zimmerman is a resident of Lake County and has been an amateur astronomer for more than 50 years. For more information about astronomy and local resources, visit his Web site at www.lakecountyskies.com .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Snow in Lake County is such a rare commodity that, for some people it can create a sort of euphoria.
Snowfall in Lake County usually only occurs once or twice a season at the lower elevations. But with Cobb Mountain, at an elevation of 4,721 feet – along with other high points in Lake County such as Mt. Konocti at 4, 304 feet and the majestic Snow Mountain at 7, 043 feet – the white, wintry stuff transpires more often.
The crunchy, crispy aspects of walking on a field of fresh fallen snow bring thoughts of, “Snow day!” for students and school teachers alike. Thoughts of hot cocoa, snowmen and solitary walks are all on the “to do” list on a snowy day.
Right before the snow falls, it “prepares” you with its gentleness and quiet. Then, it's as though the heavens were a great flour mill dusting all below with its white stuff.
Varieties of snow are numerous: thin-crusted, dry and feathery, wet, hard-packed, or fluffy and wooly.
The type of snow cover which occurs during any given weather event is said to by determined by the particular variety of snow crystals it contains.
Once the unique snow crystals descend to earth, they begin to metamorphous into ice granules, and the type of crystal falling is what establishes the way the snow collects, or drifts on the ground.
The recent snowfall was of a “lighter” or less “wet” variety of precipitation than that which occurred here a few years back.
Then, a walk in the woods appeared as a disaster zone, with violently jagged tree limbs pointing askew, looking deeply wounded and exposed.
The very noise the heavy snow-pack provoked upon the woods was an assault on the senses: crack!
There went another tree-sized limb, seemingly one after the other. It wreaked havoc not only visually, but made for hazardous driving conditions and mounds of cleanup efforts.
Most likely, there was more than one bird or squirrel nest (drey) obliterated as a result of the prior storm's damage.
In nature, many creatures can be affected by snow, depending on the depth and duration of flakes.
It only takes about an inch of snow to conceal a mouse from a hunter like a hawk. Seed-feeding birds have difficulty obtaining enough nourishment during an extended snow cover, while a deep snow of over six inches creates difficulty for deer to escape, say , a bobcat.
A bobcat is a very capable hunter in most any weather, hunting rabbits and rodents, and even eats insects.
Snow can have a positive effect on nature's small critters. According to Stoke's Nature Guide, snow hides insects from birds and other predators, thereby increasing the insect population.
Although any form of precipitation is welcomed during this extended drought period, the recent snow fall did little to restore the coffers.
For some great water-saving tips, see Hidden Valley Lake's Community Services District Web site:
http://www.hiddenvalleylakecsd.com/watertip.htm .
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is an educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Eight dogs are waiting for new homes this week at Lake County Animal Care and Control.
The dogs include mixes of shepherd, Labrador retriever, mastiff, pit bull, American Bulldog and Chihuahua and range in age from 8 months to 8 years.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.
In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
Chihuahua mix
This female Chihuahua mix is 4 years old.
She has a short black and tan coat, and weighs 9 pounds. Shelter staff did not report if she had been spayed.
Find her in kennel No. 4, ID No. 38980.
'Hunter'
“Hunter” is a 10-month-old Australian Shepherd-terrier mix.
He has a short brown and white coat, and has been neutered.
He's in kennel No. 6, ID No. 38981.
'Max'
“Max” is a a 3-year-old male Chihuahua mix.
He's got a short tan coat and perky ears. Shelter staff did not report if he has been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 7, ID No. 38940.
'Frost'
“Frost” is a 2-year-old Labrador Retriever mix.
He's got a short black coat with white markings, weighs 64 pounds and has not been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 10, ID No. 38690.
Shepherd-border collie mix
This male shepherd-border collie mix is 8 years old.
He has a medium-length black coat with white markings, and has not yet been altered.
Find him in kennel No. 14, ID No. 39030.
Labrador Retriever-pit bull terrier
This female Labrador Retriever-pit bull terrier is 1 year old.
She is pregnant, weighs 50 pounds and has a short gray and white coat.
Find her in kennel No. 16, ID No. 38939.
'Joey'
“Joey” is a 3-year-old male mastiff-American Bulldog mix.
He has a short brown brindle and white coat, weighs almost 70 pounds and has been neutered.
Shelter staff said Joey is available for a low adoption fee.
He's very friendly and housebroken, gets along with female dogs but would need to be tested with other males.
Find Joey in kennel No. 29, ID No. 38803.
Pit bull terrier mix
This male pit bull terrier mix is 2 years old.
He has a short black and white coat, weighs 67 pounds and has not yet been neutered.
He's in kennel No. 30, ID No. 38943.
Male shepherd mix
This male shepherd mix is 8 months old.
He has a short black and tan coat, and has not yet been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 32, ID No. 38962.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists are using mini-satellites that work as “space cops” to help control traffic in space.
The scientists used a series of six images over a 60-hour period taken from a ground-based satellite to prove that it is possible to refine the orbit of another satellite in low earth orbit.
“Eventually our satellite will be orbiting and making the same sort of observations to help prevent satellite on satellite collisions in space,” said Lance Simms, lead author of a paper appearing in an upcoming edition of the journal, Small Satellites.
Collisions in space of satellites and space debris have become increasingly problematic.
To help satellite operators prevent collisions in space, the Space-Based Telescopes for Actionable Refinement of Ephemeris (STARE) mission, which will consist of a constellation of nano-satellites in low earth orbit, intends to refine orbits of satellites and space debris to less than 100 meters.
STARE is an ongoing LLNL project led by Wim de Vries, with Vincent Riot as lead engineer.
Using the ground-based satellite, the Livermore team refined the orbit of the satellite NORAD 27006, based on the first four observations made within the initial 24 hours, and predicted NORAD's trajectory to within less than 50 meters over the following 36 hours.
By refining the trajectory of the ground-based satellite, the team believes they will be able to use that information to refine the orbit of a satellite in space and prevent a collision.
The tools and analysis used to capture the images of NORAD 27006 and refine its orbit are the same ones that will be used during the STARE mission.
“This leads credence to the capability of STARE to accomplish its mission objectives,” De Vries said.
Accurately predicting the location of a satellite in low earth orbit at any given time is difficult mainly because of the uncertainty in the quantities needed for the equations of motion.
Atmospheric drag, for instance, is a function of the shape and mass of the satellite as well as the density and composition of the unstable atmosphere.
These uncertainties and the incompleteness of the equations of motion lead to a quickly growing error in the position and velocity of any satellite being tracked in low earth orbit.
To account for these errors, the Space Surveillance Network (SSN) must repeatedly observe the set of nearly 20,000 objects it tracks; however, positional uncertainty of an object is about 1 kilometer. This lack of precision leads to approximately 10,000 false alarms per expected collision.
With these large uncertainties and high false alarm rates, satellite operators are rarely motivated to move their assets after a collision warning is issued.
The STARE mission aims to reduce the 1 kilometer uncertainty down to 100 meters or smaller, which will in turn reduce the number of false alarms by roughly two orders of magnitude, Riot said.
In the case of the Livermore team, they were able to reduce the uncertainty to 50 meters, well below the 100-meter goal.
Other Livermore researchers include Don Phillon, Brian Bauman and Darrell Carter. The work is funded by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program.
The number of seasonal influenza deaths this winter season in California is now nearly double that of last year, state health officials said Friday, with a Lake County resident among the newly confirmed fatal flu cases.
Dr. Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and state health officer, announced the number of confirmed influenza related deaths in the state has increased by 56 to a total of 202 confirmed deaths for the season. Four of the 202 are pediatric deaths.
There are an additional 41 deaths under investigation, not yet confirmed, according to Chapman.
Amongst the latest deaths to be confirmed as flu-related was one death in Lake County, Chapman's office reported.
Additional information about the local person who died was not released by CDPH. However, information from the agency's reports indicated the Lake County flu victim was not among the pediatric victims, and was an adult under age 65.
The 202 confirmed influenza-associated deaths this season have been reported by the following jurisdictions: Alameda (5), Contra Costa (5), El Dorado (2), Fresno (15), Glenn (1), Humboldt (1), Imperial (1), Kern (8), Kings (3), Lake (1), Lassen (1), Long Beach (3), Los Angeles (26), Madera (2), Marin (2), Mendocino (2), Merced (4), Monterey (2), Nevada (1), Orange (8), Riverside (6), Sacramento (21), San Bernardino (15), San Diego (17), San Francisco (3), San Joaquin (6), San Luis Obispo (1), San Mateo (4), Santa Barbara (2), Santa Clara (10), Santa Cruz (1), Shasta (1), Siskiyou (2), Solano (1), Sonoma (4), Stanislaus (12), Tulare (1), Tuolumne (1) and Ventura (1).
The total number of deaths reported for the entire 2012-13 influenza season was 106.
Those at highest risk – the elderly, pregnant women, infants, or those with other health conditions – who show flu symptoms should contact their physician immediately in order to get the most effective treatment.
Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches and fatigue.
Throughout the flu system state and local health officials have continued to urge people to be vaccinated in an effort to stop the spread of flu and keep themselves safe. There is no widespread shortage of antivirals for treatment.
For information on local flu vaccinations, call Lake County Public Health at 800-794-9291 or 707-263-1090, or visit the agency online at http://health.co.lake.ca.us/ .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Child Care Planning Council and many other Lake County agencies, organizations and individuals, are uniting once again to honor Early Childhood Educators through the sixth-annual ECE Award program.
Each year, the event grows, as award-winners and nominees are honored by local dignitaries and leaders in the field.
“Early Childhood Educators contribute significantly to our communities. Quality early childhood education dramatically impacts high school graduation rates, keeps our communities working, and helps Lake County develop productive, effective citizens of the future,” said Shelly Mascari of the Lake County Child Care Planning Council.
“Many of these educators have dedicated decades to their profession; their education in many cases equals that of the K-12 educator; and yet we were lacking a forum to recognize excellence in their field. The goal of the Early Childhood Educator award program is to do just that,” Mascari said.
Nomination forms are being distributed widely throughout the county through Lake County Office of Education and child care programs, and an online submission form is available to make nominating a professional as convenient as possible.
Winners will be selected based on a detailed interview and evaluation process that considers their education, commitment to their profession and effectiveness in their role as educators.
All nominees will be honored at the May 2 awards event and category awardees will receive a package that includes scholarships to our local community colleges, classroom materials, press recognition, award plaques and more.
Awards will be presented in the following categories:
- Provider of the Year (Family Child Care);
- Provider of the Year (Infant/Toddler-Center Based);
- Provider of the Year (Preschool-Center Based);
- Provider of the Year (After School-Center Based);
- Outstanding Special Needs Inclusion;
- Leading the Field.
To nominate a child care provider, visit www.lakecountychildcareplanning.com .
Nomination forms are available in English and Spanish and must be received by March 28.
Paper forms and fliers also are available by calling 707-262-4162.
To find out how to be involved in this program or support this important work financially, contact the Lake County Child Care Planning Council, 707-262-4162, www.lakecountychildcareplanning.com .