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Giant planets in our solar system and circling other stars have exotic clouds unlike anything on Earth, and the gas giants orbiting close to their stars — so-called hot Jupiters — boast the most extreme.

A team of astronomers from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have now come up with a model that predicts which of the many types of proposed clouds, from sapphire to smoggy methane haze, to expect on hot Jupiters of different temperatures, up to thousands of degrees Kelvin.

Surprisingly, the most common type of cloud, expected over a large range of temperatures, should consist of liquid or solid droplets of silicon and oxygen, like melted quartz or molten sand. On cooler hot Jupiters, below about 950 Kelvin (1,250 degrees Fahrenheit), skies are dominated by a hydrocarbon haze, essentially smog.

The model will help astronomers studying the gases in the atmospheres of these strange and distant worlds, since clouds interfere with measurements of the atmospheric composition. It could also help planetary scientists understand the atmospheres of cooler giant planets and their moons, such as Jupiter and Saturn’s moon Titan in our own solar system.

“The kinds of clouds that can exist in these hot atmospheres are things that we don’t really think of as clouds in the solar system,” said Peter Gao, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, who is first author of a paper describing the model that appeared May 25 in the journal Nature Astronomy. “There have been models that predict various compositions, but the point of this study was to assess which of these compositions actually matter and compare the model to the available data that we have.”

The study takes advantage of a boom over the past decade in the study of exoplanet atmospheres.

Though exoplanets are too distant and dim to be visible, many telescopes — in particular, the Hubble Space Telescope — are able to focus on stars and capture starlight passing through the atmospheres of planets as they pass in front of their stars.

The wavelengths of light that are absorbed, revealed by spectroscopic measurements, tell astronomers which elements make up the atmosphere.

To date, this technique and others have found or inferred the presence of water, methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, potassium and sodium gases and, in the hottest of the planets, vaporized aluminum oxide, iron and titanium.

But while some planets seem to have clear atmospheres and clear spectroscopic features, many have clouds that completely block the starlight filtering through, preventing the study of gases below the upper cloud layers. The compositions of the gases can tell astronomers how exoplanets form and whether the building blocks of life are present around other stars.

“We have found a lot of clouds: some kinds of particles — not molecules, but small droplets — that are hanging out in these atmospheres,” Gao said. “We don't really know what they are made of, but they are contaminating our observations, essentially making it more difficult for us to assess the composition and abundances of important molecules, like water and methane.”

Ruby clouds

To explain these observations, astronomers have proposed many strange types of clouds, composed of aluminum oxides, such as corundum, the stuff of rubies and sapphires; molten salt, such as potassium chloride; silicon oxides, or silicates, like quartz, the main component of sand; sulfides of manganese or zinc that exist as rocks on Earth; and organic hydrocarbon compounds. The clouds could be liquid or solid aerosols, Gao said.

Gao adapted computer models initially created for Earth’s water clouds and subsequently extended to the cloudy atmospheres of planets like Jupiter, which has ammonia and methane clouds.

He expanded the model even further to the much higher temperatures seen on hot gas giant planets — up to 2,800 Kelvin, or 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit (2,500 degrees Celsius) — and the elements likely to condense into clouds at these temperatures.

The model takes into account how gases of various atoms or molecules condense into droplets, how these droplets grow or evaporate and whether they are likely to be transported in the atmosphere by winds or updrafts, or sink because of gravity.

“The idea is that the same physical principles guide the formation of all types of clouds,” said Gao, who has also modeled sulfuric acid clouds on Venus. “What I have done is to take this model and bring it out to the rest of the galaxy, making it able to simulate silicate clouds and iron clouds and salt clouds.”

He then compared his predictions to available data on 30 exoplanets out of a total of about 70 transiting exoplanets with recorded transmission spectra to date.

The model revealed that many of the exotic clouds proposed over the years are difficult to form because the energy required to condense the gases is too high. Silicate clouds condense easily, however, and dominate over a 1,200-degree Kelvin range of temperatures: from about 900 to 2,000 Kelvin. That’s a range of about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

According to the model, in the hottest atmospheres, aluminum oxides and titanium oxides condense into high-level clouds. In exoplanets with cooler atmospheres, those clouds form deeper in the planet and are obscured by higher silicate clouds. On even cooler exoplanets, these silicate clouds also form deeper in the atmosphere, leaving clear upper atmospheres.

At even cooler temperatures, ultraviolet light from the exoplanet’s star converts organic molecules like methane into extremely long hydrocarbon chains that form a high-level haze akin to smog. This smog can obscure lower-lying salt clouds of potassium or sodium chloride.

For those astronomers seeking a cloudless planet to more easily study the gases in the atmosphere, Gao suggested focusing on planets between about 900 and 1,400 Kelvin, or those hotter than about 2,200 Kelvin.

“The presence of clouds has been measured in a number of exoplanet atmospheres before, but it is when we look collectively at a large sample that we can pick apart the physics and chemistry in the atmospheres of these worlds,” said co-author Hannah Wakeford, an astrophysicist at the University of Bristol in the U.K. “The dominant cloud species is as common as sand — it is essentially sand — and it will be really exciting to be able to measure the spectral signatures of the clouds themselves for the first time with the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope.”

Future observations, such as those by NASA’s JWST, scheduled for launch within a few years, should be able to confirm these predictions and perhaps shed light on the hidden cloud layers of planets closer to home. Gao said that similar exotic clouds may exist at depths within Jupiter or Saturn where the temperatures are close to those found on hot Jupiters.

“Because there are thousands of exoplanets versus just one Jupiter, we can study a bunch of them and see what the average is and how that compares to Jupiter,” Gao said.

He and his colleagues plan to test the model against observational data from other exoplanets and also from brown dwarfs, which are basically gas giant planets so massive they’re almost stars. They, too, have clouds.

“In studying planetary atmospheres in the solar system, we typically have the context of images. We have no such luck with exoplanets. They are just dots or shadows,” said Jonathan Fortney of UC Santa Cruz. “That's a huge loss in information. But what we do have to make up for that is a much larger sample size. And that allows us to look for trends — here, a trend in cloudiness — with planetary temperature, something that we just don't have the luxury of in our solar system.”

Other co-authors of the paper are Daniel Thorngren of the University of Montreal in Canada, Graham Lee of Oxford University in the U.K., Diana Powell and Xi Zhang of UC Santa Cruz, Caroline Morley of the University of Texas at Austin and Kevin Stevenson of the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

Gao was supported by NASA’s postdoctoral program and a 51 Pegasi b Fellowship from the Heising-Simons Foundation.

Robert Sanders writes for the UC Berkeley News Center.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Superior Court reported on Friday that it is preparing to reopen additional aspects of its operations in June and will be continuing some current measures in order to keep staff and the public safe.

The Friday update explained that the court will begin conducting in-person trials or contested hearings the week of June 15. The number of cases set on a given date and time have been limited to allow for appropriate social distancing.

The court said it will begin conducting jury trials sometime after June 22.

The court clerk’s offices will reopen to the public on June 8. The public is encouraged to continue to make use of the dropbox whenever possible to avoid person-to-person interaction.

Court officials said numerous types of other hearings will continue to be done via videoconference.

The court severely curtailed operations beginning in mid-March when separate shelter in place orders were issued by Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace and Gov. Gavin Newsom, as Lake County News has reported.

Both of those shelter in place orders remain active as aspects of reopening are underway.

“Even as reopening begins, the COVID-19 pandemic continues and it is apparent that social distancing, limits on gatherings, and mandatory face coverings will remain in place for weeks and, in some form, potentially months to come,” court officials said in a Friday statement.

Officials said the court provides an essential government service and that it has taken “significant steps” in an effort to comply with the Public Health officer’s order and to protect court users and staff from the spread of COVID-19.

As the court prepares to reopen and begin providing in-person services to the public, court officials have limited the number of cases on the calendar, will require social distancing in court facilities, and continue to handle matters via remote means whenever possible.

In accordance with the Public Health officer’s May 21 order, the court will require face coverings for anyone entering a court facility.

Remote court hearings

The court will continue to hold the following hearings by remote appearance only. All attorneys and parties must appear by phone/video as directed by the court. The court will provide
instructions for the remote appearance.

Hearing dates for the following calendars will remain as presently set:

– Daily in-custody criminal arraignments.
– Juvenile detention hearings.
– Felony law and motion, Department 3, Tuesdays at 8:15 a.m.
– Sentencings, Department 3, Mondays at 1:30 p.m.
– Misdemeanor disposition/setting and motions, Department 1, Mondays at 8:15 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
– Misdemeanor settlement conferences, Department 1, Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m.
– Civil law and motion, Department 2, Mondays at 9 a.m.
– Civil case management, Department 2, Mondays at 10:30 a.m.
– Conservatorships, Department 2, Mondays at 1:30 p.m.
– Probate, Department 2, Mondays at 2 p.m.
– Department of Child Support Services Family Support, Clearlake Branch, Tuesdays at 9 a.m.
– Domestic violence restraining orders, Department 2, Tuesdays at 8:15 a.m.
– Family law and motion, Department 2, Tuesdays at 10 a.m.
– Juvenile delinquency and dependency calendars, Mondays, 8:18 a.m./1:30 p.m., Department 4.
– Civil harassment restraining order calendar, Tuesdays, 8:15 a.m., Department 4.
– Trials and contested hearings.

Felony law and motion, preliminary hearings

The felony law and motion calendar will be held by remote appearance. However, out-of-custody defendants ordered to appear will be required to attend in person. Preliminary hearings will continue to be held in person.

Misdemeanor arraignment calendar

The misdemeanor arraignment calendar will begin the week of June 8. This calendar will be held in person. The number of cases set on a given date/time have been limited to allow for appropriate social distancing.

Jury trials

The court will begin conducting jury trials sometime after June 22, when necessary. If you receive a jury summons for a date after June 22, you are required to appear.

Steps have been taken to minimize the risk to jurors, including reducing the number of jurors who are summoned to appear at one time. Additional details are provided with the jury summons.

Clearlake Branch operations: Small claims/traffic/unlawful detainer

The Clearlake Branch will begin holding court calendars beginning June 22. Unlawful detainer cases will be set in compliance with Statewide Emergency Rules 1 and 2.

Self-Help Center

The Self-Help Center will continue to provide service by remote means only.

Litigants can contact the Self-Help Center by phone 707-994-4612, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for assistance.

All Judicial Council forms may be found here.

As the situation is quickly evolving, the court said it will keep the public up to date on its website.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Officials said that county offices are set to reopen the first week of June.

With COVID-19 still a significant concern in our region, Lake County residents are encouraged to stay safe at home whenever possible.

County departments are seeking to provide comprehensive services in the safest possible manner, and some availability of in-person services is now permissible under the health orders, provided social distancing and other precautions are strictly observed.

As of ‪Monday, June 1, most County offices will be reopening to the public, Monday through Thursday, ‪8 a.m. to 5 p.m., as an enhancement of services that have been available remotely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like all businesses reopening in Lake County, county departments are self-certifying they are taking appropriate safety measures. Departmental certifications will be posted at county offices upon reopening.

Each certification form will include contact information if you wish to submit a complaint.

Health-focused complaints regarding any Lake County business, including county departments, may also be submitted to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

“Residents can stay safe at home and still access many essential county services,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Moke Simon. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, county departments have adapted and are now able to deliver services without requiring an in-person visit.”

County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson and Court Executive Officer Krista LeVier, recently estimated 350 to 400 people passed through security at the county courthouse in Lakeport during a typical pre-COVID-19 week.

Those at elevated risk of severe COVID-19 complications may wish to reach out to a county department, and arrange for service without physically visiting the courthouse or another county facility.

A county department directory is available here.

The county of Lake’s Worksite Prevention Protocol is viewable here.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service is forecasting chances of showers and a thunderstorm on Saturday and cooler weekend temperatures.

The agency issued a hazardous weather outlook for Lake County due to the potential for storms.

The forecast calls for showers and possibly a thunderstorm during the day on Saturday. Rainfall totals could range between a tenth and a quarter of an inch, or more if there is a thunderstorm.

Saturday also is expected to see wind gusts of more than 20 miles per hour and daytime temperatures in the low 60s.

On Saturday night there is a forecast of patchy fog with temperatures dropping into the high 40s.

On Sunday morning, there are more chances of patchy fog before 11 a.m., with partly sunny conditions anticipated for the rest of the day and temperatures of about 70 degrees, with winds of nearly 10 miles per hour. Sunday night is forecast to see more patchy fog and temperatures into the low 50s.

The National Weather Services is forecasting more patchy fog on Monday, with the rest of next week looking clear and sunny, with light winds, nighttime temperatures into the mid-50s and daytime temperatures peaking in the mid-80s.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

Many of my clients want to remain in their homes for as long as they are mentally and physically able to do so.

Nowadays, with the pandemic, people who avoid going into a residential care facility, such as an assisted living or a skilled nursing home, are much less likely to get COVID-19 and other communicable illnesses that spread easily in senior living facilities.

This reality motivates seniors to consider the option of remaining at home as long as possible.

If assistance is required with their activities of daily living then they want such assistance to be provided at home so long as it is feasible.

Preparation for such in-home care includes planning around one’s present and anticipated personal care needs, financial needs and estate planning documents.

A long-term personal care plan is needed. Personal care entails a wide variety of needs: Bathing, toileting, dressing, walking, meals, doctor visits, shopping, household chores, banking, and paying household bills.

Some people rely on family members or friends who live with them to take care of these many activities.

Being proactive helps: Ask your health care provider to recommend any improvements to your household environment to facilitate your personal care. Consider hiring a traveling nurse to make an in-home evaluation.

For example, does your bathroom need to be fitted with grab bars? Do you need a wheelchair ramp to your door? Consider engaging an emergency 24 hour/seven-day service to assist you at the push of a button on a pendant you wear around your neck.

Do you have someone to make routine welfare checks to see you are well? Do you have someone to take you grocery shopping or to do shopping for you? Do you have meals on wheels? Do you need in-home care services to assist you with your activities of daily living? Are the people you trust acting in your best interest?

Personal care planning also involves having an advance health care directive, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, waiver, and possibly even a physician’s order regarding life-sustaining treatment.

The advance health care directive allows you to say how you want to be treated, how you don’t want to be treated, and whom you want as your agent to make health care decisions for you when you cannot make them yourself.

Advance health care directives come in a wide variety of types, such as the California Medical Association advance health care directive, the California Statutory advance health care directive and a wide variety of attorney drafted directives.

Advance health care directive forms are available at your physician’s office, local hospital, Hospice, attorney, online and many stationary stores.

Any long-term personal care plan needs to factor how the expenses are to be paid. A budget needs to be planned and financial planning needs to be done to make sure that there is adequate money. There are certain financial planners – eldercare financial planners – who specialize in financial planning for senior citizens.

The attorney who does the legal estate planning needs to know what personal care and financial planning are in place in order to draft estate planning documents that take the same into consideration.

The estate planning documents need to provide authority and guidance for others – such as agents or a trustee – to act in furtherance of the personal care plan and the budget.

Specifically, the power of attorney would need to say the agent is to pay for and to hire certain types of services related to providing in home care and to modifying the house to make it suitable.

It would also authorize the agent to hire financial advisors to assist in the financial planning. That agent would then be able to utilize retirement funds and other assets held outside of a trust to pay for such expenses.

Likewise, the trust would also need to speak to these same issues to allow the trustee to utilize trust assets in furtherance of these same objectives.

Putting a plan together involves accessing different resources to meet different needs. The Lake and Mendocino County Area Agency on Aging has put together a useful Resource Directory for Older Adults. The Area Agency on Aging can be reached at 800-510-2020 or 707-468-5132, or visit it online at www.lakecountyca.gov/Page9118.aspx .

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.and 707-263-3235.

On May 29, a family of sunspots — dark spots that freckle the face of the sun, representing areas of complex magnetic fields — sported the biggest solar flare since October 2017.

Although the sunspots are not yet visible (they will soon rotate into view over the left limb of the Sun), NASA spacecraft spotted the flares high above them.

The flares were too weak to pass the threshold at which NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (which is the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings and alerts) provides alerts.

But after several months of very few sunspots and little solar activity, scientists and space weather forecasters are keeping their eye on this new cluster to see whether they grow or quickly disappear.

The sunspots may well be harbingers of the Sun's solar cycle ramping up and becoming more active.

Or, they may not. It will be a few more months before we know for sure.

As the sun moves through its natural 11-year cycle, in which its activity rises and falls, sunspots rise and fall in number, too. NASA and NOAA track sunspots in order to determine, and predict, the progress of the solar cycle — and ultimately, solar activity.

Currently, scientists are paying close attention to the sunspot number as it's key to determining the dates of solar minimum, which is the official start of Solar Cycle 25.

This new sunspot activity could be a sign that the sun is possibly revving up to the new cycle and has passed through minimum.

However, it takes at least six months of solar observations and sunspot-counting after a minimum to know when it's occurred. Because that minimum is defined by the lowest number of sunspots in a cycle, scientists need to see the numbers consistently rising before they can determine when exactly they were at the bottom.

That means solar minimum is an instance only recognizable in hindsight: It could take six to 12 months after the fact to confirm when minimum has actually passed.

This is partly because our star is extremely variable. Just because the sunspot numbers go up or down in a given month doesn't mean it won't reverse course the next month, only to go back again the month after that. So, scientists need long-term data to build a picture of the sun’s overall trends through the solar cycle.

Commonly, that means the number we use to compare any given month is the average sunspot number from six months both backward and forward in time — meaning that right now, we can confidently characterize what October 2019 looks like compared to the months before it (there were definitely fewer sunspots!), but not yet what November looks like compared to that.

On May 29, at 3:24 a.m. EST, a relatively small M-class solar flare blazed from these sunspots. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation.

Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

The intensity of this flare was below the threshold that could affect geomagnetic space and below the threshold for NOAA to create an alert.

Nonetheless, it was the first M-class flare since October 2017 — and scientists will be watching to see if the Sun is indeed beginning to wake up.

Karen Fox and Lina Tran work for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.