THE WORLD AROUND US
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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/.
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