Mountain Views News          Saturday, December 15, 2012

THE WORLD AROUND US

11

 Mountain Views News Saturday, December 15, 2012 


CASSINI SPORTS MINI NILE RIVER ON SATURN MOON

The international Cassini mission has spotted what appears to be 
a miniature extraterrestrial version of the Nile River: a river valley 
on Saturn’s moon Titan that stretches more than 250 miles from its 
“headwaters” to a large hydrocarbon sea.

It is the first time images have revealed a river system this vast and 
in such high resolution anywhere beyond Earth.

Scientists deduce that the river is filled with liquid because it 
appears dark along its entire extent in the high-resolution radar 
image, indicating a smooth surface.

“Though there are some short, local meanders, the relative 
straightness of the river valley suggests it follows the trace of at least 
one fault, similar to other large rivers running into the southern 
margin of this same Titan sea,” says Jani Radebaugh, a Cassini radar 
team associate at Brigham Young University.

“Such faults—fractures in Titan’s bedrock—may not imply plate 
tectonics, like on Earth, but still may lead to the opening of basins 
and perhaps to the formation of the giant seas themselves,” she adds.

Titan is the only other world we know of that has stable liquid on 
its surface. While Earth’s hydrologic cycle relies on water, Titan’s 
equivalent cycle involves hydrocarbons such as ethane and methane 
(which we know as natural gas).

Images from Cassini’s visible-light cameras revealed regions that 
darkened after recent hydrocarbon rainfall.

Cassini’s visual and infrared mapping spectrometer confirmed the 
presence of liquid ethane at a lake in Titan’s southern hemisphere 
known as Ontario Lacus in 2008.

“This radar-imaged river provides another fantastic snapshot 
of a world in motion, which was first hinted at from the 
images of channels and gullies seen by ESA’s Huygens probe 
as it descended to the moon’s surface in 2005,” says Nicolas 
Altobelli, Cassini Project Scientist for ESA (the European 
Space Agency).

Titan (or Saturn VI) is the largest moon of Saturn. It is the 
only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and 
the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of 
stable bodies of surface liquid has been found.

Titan is the sixth ellipsoidal moon from Saturn. Frequently 
described as a planet-like moon, Titan has a diameter roughly 
50% larger than Earth’s moon and is 80% more massive. It is 
the second-largest moon in the Solar System, after Jupiter’s 
moon Ganymede, and it is larger by volume than the smallest 
planet, Mercury, although only half as massive. Titan was the 
first known moon of Saturn, discovered in 1655 by the Dutch 
astronomer Christiaan Huygens, and it was the fifth moon of 
a planet apart from the Earth to be discovered.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of 
NASA, ESA, and ASI, the Italian Space Agency. NASA’s Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute 
of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA’s 
Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Cassini 
orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The 
radar instrument was built by JPL and ASI, working with 
team members from the United States and several European 
countries.

You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.com.


Photos: 

Mosaic of river channel and ridge area on Titan 

- Courtesy NASA


JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS


The holiday season seems to bring out the 
best in those of us who enjoy cooking and 
conjuring up unique recipes to prepare 
and share with family and friends. These 
days, that “somethin’ lovin’ that comes 
from the oven” often also includes hand-
crafted home-made dog treats prepared 
for pets of those animal lovers who want 
to do something special to show their 
appreciation to their canine companions 
at Christmastime.

Last year I received a beautiful package of 
holiday goodies from a friend, including 
a bag of lovely home baked dog biscuits 
and I must say that my girl “Tater” 
absolutely loved her for it! I also thought 
it was a great gift idea, so I decided to try 
baking some pet treats of my own to give 
away in the spirit of the holiday season. 
The idea of cooking home made food 
for my pets always excites me because I 
know if I am preparing it I can control 
what goes into it, and I like to pick and 
choose healthy nutritious ingredients 
that are good for their particular needs. 
I’ve never actually baked snacks or 
treats for my dogs before, so this year 
will be my first attempt. To help get the 
ball rolling I called on a few dog-owner 
friends to see if they had recipes they’ve 
used and would like to recommend.

Among the canine cookie concoctions I 
collected, I particularly liked 2 that were 
given to me by a client, Alexia Nalewaik. 
She occasionally bakes for her awesome 
foursome - as I like to call her beautiful 
brood of 4 small dogs, Miss Pimms, 
Lambic, Sambuca and Marcella all 
of whom enjoy the home-baked treats 
Alexia prepares and stores for them 
in a cookie jar on the kitchen counter. 
During my weekly visits to their home, 
I have noticed that her 4 dogs seem to 
understand that those biscuits are little 
tokens of love, to be given on special 
occasions as a reward for good behavior. 
Believe me, being catered to is nothing 
new for Alexia’s four-legged crew but 
this doggie-ma of 4 says her pups 
especially like bones baked at home way 
better than those bought in the store. 
Here are the 2 recipes Alexia shared 
with me. I hope you enjoy making use of 
them. Happy Holidays to all you animal 
lovers out there, and bon appetite to 
your beloved canine companions!

DELICIOUS DOG BISCUITS 

 Source: Gourmet / December 2005

Ingredients: 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 
1 ¾ cups whole-wheat flour, 1 ¾ cups 
cornmeal, 1 ¾ cups old-fashioned 
rolled oats, ½ cup toasted wheat germ, 
½ cup packed light brown sugar, 1 tbsp 
baking powder, 1 ½ tsp salt, ¾ cups cold, 
unsalted butter cut into tbsp. size pieces, 
1 cup, plus 1 tbsp water, ½ cup fresh flat-
leaf parsley, ½ cup chopped fresh mint 
leaves, 1 large egg

Special Equipment: A pastry or bench 
scraper and a bone-shaped dog biscuit 
cookie cutter

Directions: Pulse 
flours, cornmeal, 
oats, wheat germ, 
brown sugar, 
baking powder and 
in salt in a food 
processor until 
evenly combined. 
Add butter and 
pulse until mixture 
resembles coarse 
meal with pea-size 
butter lumps. Add 
1 cup water and 
pulse until a coarse, dense dough forms.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface 
and knead in parsley and mint until well 
distributed.

Gather, then halve dough with scraper. 
Form into 2 balls and flatten each into a 
6-inch disk.

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds 
of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Roll out 1 disk of dough into a round 
(1/3 inch thick) on a well-floured surface 
with a rolling pin. (If dough becomes too 
soft to roll out, wrap in plastic and chill 
until firm.) Cut out as many biscuits as 
possible and arrange about ¼ inch apart 
on a baking sheet.

Gather scraps and re-roll, then cut out 
more biscuits. Repeat with remaining 
dough using another baking sheet.

Whisk together egg and 1 tbsp water. 
Brush biscuits with egg wash and bake, 
switching position of sheets halfway 
through, until tops are golden brown, 
about 35 minutes total. Turn off oven 
and dry biscuits overnight.

* Biscuits keep about 1 month, layered 
between sheets of wax paper or 
parchment in an airtight container.

SIMPLE SIMON’S BIRTHDAY 
BONES

Source: Alexia Nalewaik / 12/16/2007 / 
http://www.tastebook.com

Ingredients: 2 cups whole wheat flour, 
1 tbsp baking powder, 1 cup natural 
peanut butter, 1 cup skim milk

Directions: Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour and baking powder. In 
a separate bowl, combine peanut butter 
and milk.

Add wet mixture to dry and mix well.

Turn out dough on a lightly floured 
surface and knead.

Roll out to ¼ inch thick and cut out 
shapes.

Place on a greased baking sheet and bake 
for 20 minutes or until lightly brown.

Cool on a rack and store in an airtight 
container.

PET OF THE WEEK: BELLA #A4519486 

NOTHIN’S AS LOVIN’ AS SOMETHIN 
FROM YOUR OVEN

Homemade Holiday Treat Ideas for Your Canine Companion

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc

Meet a true gem, Bella 
(A4519486). Bella is a 
happy-go-lucky one and 
one half year old brown 
female Dachshund/
Terrier mix puppy who 
was found in Rosemead 
on December 5th with 
her companion Magnolia 
(A4519489) and brought 
to the Baldwin Park 
Animal Care Center. 
Weighing twenty-eight 
pounds, this extroverted 
puppy understands the 
concept of walking on 
leash, and will soon 
master it. 

Good with other dogs, especially Magnolia with whom she is quite bonded, 
she is also good with children. Bella will make a tremendous indoor pet 
for anyone in any living situation. To watch a video of Bella and Magnolia 
please visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=va3pA9VINLY

To meet Bella in person, please see her at the Baldwin Park Animal Care 
Center, located at 4275 N. Elton St., Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (Phone: 
626-430-2378 or 626-962-3577). She is currently available now. For any 
inquiries about Bella, please reference her animal ID number: A4519486. 
The shelter is open seven days a week, 12 pm-7 pm Monday-Thursday 
and 10am-5pm Friday-Sunday. This is a high-intake shelter with a great 
need for adoptions. For more information about Bella or the adoption 
process, please contact United Hope for Animals Volunteer Adoption 
Coordinator Samantha at Samantha@hope4animals.org. To learn more 
about United Hope for Animals’ partnership with the Baldwin Park Shelter 
through its Shelter Support Program, as well as the many dogs of all breeds, 
ages, and sizes available for adoption in local shelters, visit http://www.
unitedhope4animals.org/about-us/shelter-support-program/.