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- Written by: Rani C. Gran
Scientists from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission recently learned that surface regeneration happens a lot quicker on asteroids than on Earth.
By analyzing rock fractures on asteroid Bennu from high-resolution images taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, the team discovered that the Sun’s heat fractures rocks on Bennu in just 10,000 to 100,000 years.
This information will help scientists estimate how long it takes boulders on asteroids like Bennu to break down into smaller particles, which may either eject into space or stay on the asteroid’s surface.
Tens of thousands of years might sound pretty slow, but “we thought surface regeneration on asteroids took a few millions of years,” said Marco Delbo, senior scientist at Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Laboratoire Lagrange, Nice, France, and lead author of a paper published June 2022 in Nature Geoscience. “We were surprised to learn that the aging and weathering process on asteroids happens so quickly, geologically speaking.”
Although landslides, volcanoes, and earthquakes can change the surface suddenly on Earth, usually changes are gradual. Water, wind, and temperature changes slowly break down rock layers, creating new surfaces over millions of years.
For example, if you were to hike into the Grand Canyon, you would see distinct rock layers; the top layers tend to be the youngest rocks, dating around 270 million years old, and the layers at the bottom of the canyon are the oldest, about 1.8 billion years old.
According to the U.S. National Park Service, the Colorado River has been carving down rocks in the Grand Canyon for 5 million to 6 million years.
Rapid temperature changes on Bennu create internal stress that fractures and breaks down rocks, similar to how a cold glass breaks under hot water. The Sun rises every 4.3 hours on Bennu. At the equator, daytime highs can reach almost 260 F (about 127 C), and nighttime lows plummet to nearly minus 10 F (about minus 23 C).
OSIRIS-REx scientists spotted cracks in the rocks in spacecraft images from the first surveys of the asteroid. The fractures seemed to point in the same direction, “a distinct signature that temperature shocks between the day and the night could be the cause,” said Delbo.
Delbo and his colleagues measured the length and angles of more than 1,500 fractures in OSIRIS-REx images by hand: some shorter than a tennis racket, others longer than a tennis court. They found the fractures predominantly align in the northwest-southeast direction, indicating they were caused by the Sun, which is shown here to be the primary force changing Bennu’s landscape.
“If landslides or impacts were moving boulders faster than the boulders were cracking, the fractures would point in random directions,” said Delbo.
The scientists used a computer model and their fracture measurements to calculate the 10,000 to 100,000-year timeframe for thermal fractures to propagate and split rocks.
“The thermal fractures on Bennu are quite similar to what we find on Earth and on Mars in terms of how they form,” said Christophe Matonti, a co-author of the paper at Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Géoazur, Sophia-Antipolis, Valbonne, France. “It is fascinating to see that they can exist and are similar in very ‘exotic’ physical conditions [low gravity, no atmosphere], even compared to Mars.”
“Keep in mind, the topography of Bennu is young, but the rocks on the asteroids are still billions of years old and hold valuable information about the beginning of the solar system,” said Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) will return a sample from Bennu to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023. “We will be able to learn more details about the age of the surface when we are able to directly study the sample,” said Dworkin.
Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator. The university leads the science team and the mission's science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft and provides flight operations.
Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency's Science Mission Directorate Washington.
Rani C. Gran works for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Sutter Lakeside closed its birth center on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. due to having no available obstetrician to deliver babies, as Lake County News has reported.
At that point, the hospital went on “diversion” and began directing expectant mothers to other hospitals around the region.
The hospital said it anticipates resolving the situation to be resolved by 7 a.m. Wednesday, July 27, and that it is “actively working with community resources to help patients access appropriate care and to facilitate transfers to other hospitals as necessary.”
The California Nurses Association — whose members are in ongoing negotiations with Sutter Health and conducted an informational picket earlier this year over issues including safety and staffing — weighed in on the situation, calling on Sutter “to immediately provide the community with a comprehensive plan to ensure safe, stable and consistent obstetric services.”
The union accused Sutter Health of putting profits over patients, noting, “Sutter management has relied on just two obstetric providers, throughout two years of pandemic instability, despite repeated warnings from Registered Nurses and providers.”
The closure of the Sutter Lakeside Birth Center left only one place to deliver in Lake County — Adventist Health Clear Lake.
“We are prepared and ready to accept birthing mothers who are being diverted,” Kim Lewis, spokesperson for Adventist Health Clear Lake, told Lake County News on Thursday.
Lewis said Sutter had reached out to Adventist regarding its action, “and we are working closely with them and have a plan in place.”
In addition to Adventist Health Clear Lake, Sutter Lakeside is reportedly directing patients to Kaiser Santa Rosa, Queen of the Valley in Napa and Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
On Thursday, Adventist Health Ukiah Valley contacted Lake County News to report that it also is welcoming birth center patients that are being diverted from Sutter Lakeside.
County officials reported on Thursday that they also are working with Sutter Lakeside to address the matter.
“County of Lake Health Services was made aware of this before its occurrence and has been supporting Sutter Lakeside where possible,” Dwight Coddington, spokesman for the Lake County Health Services Department, told Lake County News in a Thursday email.
Coddington said that if a patient does require an obstetrician they will be referred to Sutter in Santa Rosa, and that other providers — such as Adventist Hospital and the regional hospitals where patients are being referred — aren’t being impacted due to Sutter Lakeside’s obstetrics bypass.
The California Nurses Association told Lake County News that it is “deeply concerned for the patients and families of Lake County as well as adjacent Napa and Mendocino counties with the alarming news that Sutter Lakeside Hospital has failed to secure stable obstetric services resulting in temporary closure or ‘diversion’ of its perinatal services.”
Noting that the rural hospital provides vital health care services, including perinatal services to Lake, Napa and Mendocino County families, the union said, “This temporary closure or ‘diversion’ adds significant time and travel to a journey that can and often does cause significant risk to the well-being of the expectant mother and baby.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
The effort to expand the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument continues to move ahead in Congress.
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources passed the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument Expansion Act (S. 4080) with unanimous and bipartisan support.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) with Sen. Dianne Feinstein as co-sponsor, is a companion to H.R. 6366, introduced by Congressman John Garamendi.
Advocates and the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation are thrilled this legislation, which would permanently protect a unique Northern California landscape, has received bipartisan support in the Senate.
“Glad to see my bill to expand the existing Berryessa Snow National Monument and give Tribal governments a seat at the table to better manage and care for these sacred Tribal lands move forward today,” said Sen. Padilla. “The sacred lands within and around the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument are central to thousands of years of tribal origin stories. It is our duty to protect the abundant natural resources and the rich history on Molok Luyuk for today’s children and for future generations, and I look forward to working to ensure we see this bill to fruition.”
The legislation would add an adjacent 3,925 acres to the current Monument, support tribal co-management, and change the name of the additional wildlands from “Walker Ridge” to Molok Luyuk — Patwin for “Condor Ridge” — a name the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation provided.
“Molok Luyuk is home to both profound natural beauty and deep cultural significance. It is a special place, so it's fitting that California’s tribes and the U.S. government create a special relationship to protect it,” said Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation Chairman Anthony Roberts. “We commend Senator Padilla and Senator Feinstein for their work on this bill.”
In 2015, President Obama designated Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument with Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA05) who introduced the original bill.
The monument, along with the proposed Molok Luyuk addition, is culturally significant to local Native American tribes and notable for its varied habitats and wildlife, including imperiled animals. The legislation would not impact privately owned, state, tribal, or non-federal land in any way.
“Molok Luyuk is a special landscape of fascinating geology, rich biodiversity, profound cultural significance, and beautiful views. This place is worthy of the permanent protection that Sen. Alex Padilla and Representative John Garamendi have proposed," said Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Chair Victoria Brandon.
Molok Luyuk includes public land adjacent to the existing monument that is administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
The ridge is home to great biodiversity including over 30 species of rare plants, ancient blue oak woodlands, rugged rock outcrops, wildflower meadows, and extensive stands of McNab cypress. The area also provides wildlife connectivity for many species including deer, mountain lions, and black bear.
“This markup is an important milestone following decades of advocacy,” California Native Plant Society Conservation Program Director Nick Jensen said. “The bipartisan support for this legislation is a marvelous sign that we are on a strong path toward permanently protecting a region that is biologically precious and of great significance to Native American communities. We thank Sen. Padilla for his exceptional leadership in expanding Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and honoring the area’s profound significance to our tribal partners.”
The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument Expansion Act would provide much-needed, lasting protection for the land along with the requirement for a Monument Management Plan within one year.
The legislation also calls for cooperative management with tribes or tribal partners in the development of the management plan and subsequent management decisions.The land is of tremendous present-day cultural and religious importance to the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, and includes sites central to their origin stories. The cooperative management provision would help safeguard this one-of-a-kind area in partnership with local Indigenous tribes.
"Molok Luyuk is a rare gem. It is filled with wildlife, rare plants, and indigenous treasures that local residents have long appreciated. We are excited to see this legislation progress through the Senate and thankful to the leadership of senators Padilla and Feinstein,” said Sandra Schubert, executive director of Tuleyome. “We are grateful they have supported the effort to protect Molok Luyuk from current and future threats while respecting Tribal stewardship over the lands.”
The bill would also increase recreational access to world-class nature and outdoor activities for locals and visitors. Popular recreation activities on these lands include hiking, sightseeing, mountain biking, camping, horseback riding, and off highway vehicle use on designated routes. Incorporating the area into the existing monument would improve land management, bring additional resources for trail construction and maintenance, help improve public access, and protect sensitive wildlife and prime habitat areas.
This will also help ensure equitable access to the outdoors in a county where 22% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino.
“We admire Sen. Alex Padilla for being a reliable champion for public lands since taking office,” said Ryan Henson, Senior Policy Director for CalWild. “We are thrilled to see the bill to protect Molok Luyuk pass this milestone in Congress. This place is a public treasure and deserves permanent protection and improved management.”
The expanded monument also would mark an important step toward helping the state of California and the Biden Administration meet the critical goal of protecting 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by the year 2030, added Elyane Stefanick, California Program Director for the Conservation Lands Foundation, in reference to California’s 30x30 Initiative and the federal America the Beautiful call-to-action.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The City of Clearlake Animal Association also is seeking fosters for the animals waiting to be adopted.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
The following dogs are available for adoption. The newest addition is at the top.
‘Tiramisu’
“Tiramisu” is a female Alaskan husky mix with a short brown and cream coat.
She is dog No. 49652833.
‘Andy’
“Andy” is a male American pit bull mix with a short gray and white coat.
He is dog No. 48995415.
‘Bear’
“Bear” is a male Labrador retriever-American pit bull mix with a short charcoal and fawn coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 48443153.
‘Betsy’
“Betsy” is a female American pit bull mix with a short white coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 50236145.
‘Big Phil’
“Big Phil” is a 13-year-old male American pit bull terrier mix with a blue coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 49951647.
‘Bluey’
“Bluey” is a male retriever mix with a short black coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 50552999.
‘Bro’
“Bro” is a male terrier mix with a short tan coat.
He has been neutered.
Bro is dog No. 50262527.
‘Colt’
“Colt” is a male Rhodesian Ridgeback mix with a short rust and black coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 49812106.
‘Hakuna’
“Hakuna” is a male shepherd mix with a tan coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 50176912.
‘Hondo’
“Hondo” is a male Alaskan husky mix with a buff coat.
He has been neutered.
He’s dog No. 50227693.
‘Kubota’
“Kubota” is a male German shepherd mix with a short tan and black coat.
He has been neutered.
Kubota is dog No. 50184421.
‘Matata’
“Matata” is male shepherd mix with a tan coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 50176912.
‘Newman’
“Newman” is a 1-year-old male American pit bull terrier mix with a black and white coat.
He has been neutered.
Newman is dog No. 49057809.
‘Precious’
“Precious” is a female terrier mix with a short tan and black coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 50467529.
‘Sadie’
“Sadie” is a female German shepherd mix with a black and tan coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 49802563.
‘Taz’
“Taz” is a male Labrador retriever mix with a short black coat and white markings.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 50467817.
‘Terry’
“Terry” is a handsome male shepherd mix with a short brindle coat.
He gets along with other dogs, including small ones, and enjoys toys. He also likes water, playing fetch and keep away.
Staff said he is now getting some training to help him build confidence.
He is dog No. 48443693.
‘Ziggy’
“Ziggy” is a male American pit bull terrier mix with a short gray and white coat.
He has been neutered.
Ziggy is dog No. 50146247
Email Elizabeth Larson at