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- Written by: Preston Dyches
What's up for July? How about some moons with those giant planets? Mars after midnight. And are the stars of Mars the same as ours?
In the first week of July, enjoy Jupiter, Saturn and the moon late into the night. The trio rises in the couple of hours after sunset, and is well placed for viewing between about 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. They form their closest grouping over the July 4 weekend.
And as you're marveling at this celestial celebration, remember, you're not looking at just one moon, but well over a hundred. At present count, Jupiter and Saturn have 161 moons between them.
You can see Jupiter's four largest moons with a basic pair of binoculars, and at least one of Saturn's moons with a basic telescope. Up close, these moons are richly varied worlds in their own right – with ice-covered oceans, volcanoes, deep chasms and one with an atmosphere and seas of liquid hydrocarbons.
NASA's Mars 2020 mission is planned to launch this summer, sending the Perseverance rover and the first-ever Mars helicopter to the Red Planet. So if you're a Mars exploration fan, this month is a great time to spot Mars yourself.
In July, Mars rises just before midnight and is visible until dawn. It's rising earlier now than it was a few months ago, making it easier for those who are more night owls than early birds. Just look low in the east after midnight for a relatively bright object with a distinct reddish hue. And for an extra treat, take a look on July 11 to find the Moon very close by.
You might not have considered it before, but would it surprise you that the night sky on Mars is quite similar to Earth's in many ways?
Sure, there's sometimes a lot of dust in the thin air, and there are two little moons rather than one big one. But the stars we see from Earth are so very distant that they appear the same as seen from Mars, and you'd have no trouble finding your favorite constellations and asterisms like the Big Dipper.
Plus, with no humans there (yet), there's absolutely zero light pollution to interfere with your view of the Milky Way!
One big difference would be the positions of the planets in the sky. And instead of a ruddy red planet, there would be a dazzling bluish-white one to try and spot while stargazing.
To see noticeable changes in the positions of the stars, you'd have to travel much farther than Mars, Jupiter, even Pluto. In fact, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, speeding through the outskirts of the solar system, has only seen the slightest shift in the positions of a couple of nearby stars, despite being more than 4 billion miles away from Earth.
You can catch up on all of NASA's missions to explore the solar system and beyond at www.nasa.gov .
Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Dr. Gary Pace confirmed the death in an afternoon statement.
“The exact circumstances are still being investigated, but this person became ill at home, was transported by ambulance, and died in the emergency department; they later tested positive for COVID-19,” Pace said. “Our sincere condolences go out to family and friends in this deeply sad situation.”
Pace said COVID-19 infections continue to rise in Lake County.
As of Friday morning, Pace said Lake County has a total of 86 cases, with 39 considered active and 46 recovered.
He said four of the cases are currently hospitalized, with two in-county and the other two transferred to a higher level of care out of the county. One of the individuals transported out of the county is now considered COVID-19-free, but remains under hospital care.
“Investigation into the outbreak in the farmworker community remains ongoing, and we are grateful both workers and employers have been highly responsible and cooperative in managing this challenging situation. All of those infected are on home isolation, and cooperating with Public Health,” Pace said.
Several other cases have been identified from various sources, according to Pace’s report. “Many of them have been traced to known cases; either household members or cases from out of the county.”
He added, “A handful of the recent cases, though, have no identifiable source. Community transmission is presumed.”
Lake County’s first death has occurred in the midst of the largest spike in cases Lake County has seen since the pandemic began, with cases more than doubling over the past week.
Similarly, the state of California is seeing a large increase in cases. Case totals by Friday afternoon topped 246,000 with more than 6,270 deaths, based on reports from the 58 county Public Health departments.
Lake County Public Health reported on Friday that 5,163 tests have been conducted in the county, with results from 760 of those tests pending.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Since 2012, Bassmaster Magazine has released annual rankings of the country’s best bass fisheries.
While tournament data could not be gathered because of the COVID-19 pandemic, crunching numbers gathered over the past eight years revealed a surprising Best Bass Lake of the Decade — California’s Clear Lake.
Overall, California had six fisheries on the Top 100 list — Clear Lake, Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, Lake Havasu, Berryessa, Shasta and New Melones — creating a three-way tie for second place with Texas and Florida.
“Typically, creating the rankings takes more than two months as we dig through current tournament data as well as state fishery information on stocking efforts, catch rates and angler access,” explained Bassmaster Magazine Editor-in-Chief James Hall. “Instead, we used all of this research and rankings from the past eight years to create an incredible — and somewhat surprising — ranking of bucket-list destinations for anglers.”
While long-considered a West Coast powerhouse, Clear Lake has never topped the Best Bass Lakes list until this year.
However, in the past decade, California’s largest natural lake has also never ranked below 10th in the country and has been the top-ranked Western fishery for the past three years.
Anglers can expect to consistently catch big bass in a fishery where an average bass weighs in at over 5 pounds.
In fact, a bass over 16 pounds was landed at Clear Lake last year. Combine that production with a pristine setting in wine country, and you have the definition of a bucket-list fishing destination.
Alabama’s Lake Guntersville, home of the 2020 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, took the No. 2 spot, matching its 2019 rank. Like Clear Lake, the Big G has never been named the Best Bass Lake in the nation, but it is rarely out of contention.
Guntersville is known for its breathtaking scenery and easy access, but big fish swim there as well. Most big-bass prizes are awarded to fish topping the 8-pound mark, with 10-plus-pounders taking center stage on occasion.
True giants call the third-place fishery, Lake Erie, home. While most of the tournament data comes out of Buffalo, N.Y., anglers can expect smallmouth in the 6-pound range anywhere along the shoreline, which includes New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Michigan’s Lake St. Clair, where you can catch the smallmouth of a lifetime surrounded by Instagram-worthy scenery, is in the fourth spot.
Rounding out the remainder of the Top 10 lakes are the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta at fifth; Toledo Bend, on the Louisiana/Texas border, at sixth; Texas's Sam Rayburn Reservoir at seventh; Texas's Falcon Lake at eighth; Idaho’s Lake Coeur d’Alene at ninth; and Florida’s Lake Okeechobee at tenth.
The rankings identify the Top 25 lakes in the nation based on head-to-head comparisons, as well as the top lakes in four geographical regions — Central, Western, Southeastern and Northeastern.
“We divide the nation into four regions and rank the lakes in each region to give anglers perspective on the fisheries they can most likely reach,” Hall explained.
As for bragging rights on which state has the most fisheries in the all-decade rankings, that title goes to Michigan with seven lakes.
Bassmaster Magazine’s 100 Best Bass Lakes of the Decade
Top 25
1. Clear Lake, California
2. Lake Guntersville, Alabama
3. Lake Erie, New York/Ohio/Pennsylvania/Michigan
4. Lake St. Clair, Michigan
5. Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, California
6. Toledo Bend, Louisiana/Texas
7. Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Texas
8. Falcon Lake, Texas
9. Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
10. Lake Okeechobee, Florida
11. Lake Champlain, New York/Vermont
12. St. Lawrence River (Thousand Islands), New York
13. Pickwick Lake, Alabama/Mississippi/Tennessee
14. Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees, Oklahoma
15. Chickamauga Lake, Tennessee
16. Lake Fork, Texas
17. Lake Havasu, Arizona/California
18. Oneida Lake, New York
19. Candlewood Lake, Connecticut
20. Columbia River, Oregon/Washington
21. Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota
22. Lake Seminole, Georgia/Florida
23. Santee Cooper Lakes (Marion/Moultrie), South Carolina
24. Lake Charlevoix, Michigan
25. Sturgeon Bay (Lake Michigan), Wisconsin
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Firefighters were able to control a Wednesday evening fire that occurred at the Lakeport transfer station.
Lakeport Fire Chief Rick Bergem said the fire was first dispatched at around 8 p.m. Wednesday.
He said Lakeport, Kelseyville and Northshore Fire all sent resources to the fire.
Bergem said the fire was controlled fairly quickly, with units on scene for about two hours for cleanup.
There have been previous fires at the transfer station, including in September 2014 and June 2015, as Lake County News has reported.
The transfer station is owned and operated by C&S Waste Solutions.
“There is no major structural integrity damage to the building, just some siding that needs to be replaced at this time,” Linsey McCollough, the company’s operations manager, told Lake County News.
McCollough said the cause of the fire is likely improperly disposed of rechargeable batteries or barbecue ashes.
The company asked community members to remember that certain items are a fire hazard and should not be placed in garbage, yard waste or recycling carts, or mixed into loads at the transfer station.
Those hazardous items include:
– Flammable or combustible liquids, such as gasoline, oil-based paints or kerosene;
– Hazardous materials, including items such as ammonia, bleach, pool chemicals, pesticides and paint thinners;
– Canisters containing propellants, including butane or propane;
– Cylinders containing compressed gas, such as propane, helium, oxygen, acetylene or fire extinguishers;
– Rechargeable batteries, which contain heavy metals, including lithium, nickel-cadmium or lead-acid;
– Ashes, from fireplaces, fire pits or barbecue grills.
Email Elizabeth Larson at