Mountain Views News          Saturday, May 3, 2014

THE WORLD AROUND US

B2

Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 3, 2014 


ASTRONOMERS OBSERVE CORKSCREW NATURE OF LIGHT FROM DISTANT BLACK HOLE

For the first time an international team of astronomers has measured circular 
polarization in the bright flash of light from a dying star collapsing to a black hole, 
giving insight into an event that happened almost 11 billion years ago.

Dr. Peter Curran from the Curtin University node of the International Centre for 
Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) was part of the team that observed gamma-
ray burst 121024A—a bright flash of light emitted by a dying star collapsing to a 
black hole—and found a surprising detail in the light they collected. The research 
was published May 1 in the journal Nature.

“Gamma-ray bursts are so powerful that we can see them clearly at extraordinary 
distances,” Dr. Curran said. “But this one was an unusual case, its light had a strange 
feature—it was circularly polarized.”

If light is polarized it means the waves are moving in a uniform way as they travel—
either bouncing up and down or left and right for linear polarization, or in the case 
of circular polarization, corkscrewing around in a spiral motion.Dr. Curran said 3D 
movies make use of circular polarization by feeding a different image to each eye 
through special glasses, giving the illusion of depth while watching a film.

“Most light in the natural world is unpolarized, the waves are bouncing around at 
random,” he said. “But the light from this gamma-ray burst looked like it was part 
of a 3D movie—it was about 1,000 times more polarized than we expected. “This 
means that the assumptions we’ve been making about gamma-ray bursts need to 
be completely reconsidered—assumptions of how electrons are accelerated to the 
incredible speeds we observe. Our results show that gamma-ray bursts are far more 
complex than we thought,” he added.

Gamma-ray bursts are the brightest objects in the entire universe, only lasting a 
fraction of a second, but sending out as much energy in that time as the Sun will in 
its entire life. These bursts are emitted by dying stars collapsing to black holes that 
form jets of material traveling at over 99.995 percent of the speed of light. “These 
extreme objects are like super-powered versions of the world’s largest and most 
powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, except very far away in 
space,” Dr. Curran said.

“We can use them to study microscopic electrons and how they behave in extreme 
environments, at a great distance—in this case, 18,500 million light-years away, at a 
time when the universe was just a fraction of its current age. “This is the first time 
we’ve found circular polarization in the light from a gamma-ray burst, but we think we’ll find it in more bursts in the future, so we can start to pin down what’s actually happening when these bright flashes of 
energy are released.”

ICRAR is a joint venture between Curtin University and The University of Western Australia. You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.com.


JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS


LIFE’S TRUE TREASURES:

BREAKING THE ICE TO GIVE 
ANIMALS A BREAK IN LIFE

LOOKING FOR A BEST FRIEND?

Dollar and Peso were surrendered 
to the shelter together from the 
same home because their owner 
could no longer care for them. 
They look like they are siblings, 
although Dollar is a little older 
than Peso. Dollar is about 9 years 
old, weighs a little over 9 pounds. 
Peso is 8 years old and weighs 
just under 8 pounds. They are 
Chihuahua boys, and are very 
similar in color and appearance. 
Even though they are considered 
“senior” dogs, they are very active 
and seem to be in good health. 

We understand that these boys 
spent most of their time in the 
backyard, and were not used to 
being picked up and handled. When they first came to the shelter, they were not comfortable being 
handled much, but they enjoy going for walks, and both do very well on the leash. 

As volunteers and staff have spent more time with Dollar and Peso, they are becoming more relaxed 
with touching and petting, and even occasional time on the lap. We have found that Dollar enjoys 
having his back massaged, and Peso is becoming receptive to cuddling. We see progress each time 
they are taken for walks or social time, which is usually 2-3 times a week. 

Both Dollar and Peso seem to get along well with the other dogs they have encountered at the shelter.

These good-looking boys have short hair and are easy to groom. They are bonded with each other 
and would love to go to their new forever homes together, but they can also be adopted separately. 
They would qualify for our “Senior for Senior” program with a reduced adoption rate for any senior 
that would be interested in taking them home. If they are adopted together, they would qualify for 
our Buddy Adoption rate.

They currently reside at the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society located at 851 E. Grand Avenue in 
San Gabriel. We are located off San Gabriel Blvd., north of Mission and south of Las Tunas. 

To arrange a ‘Meet and Greet’ with these special boys (aka….10019 and 10020), please stop by any 
time from 10:00am to 4:30pm Tuesday thru Sunday. 

The adoption fee for a small dog is $120 which includes neuter surgery, microchip, first vaccinations 
and a free wellness check-up at a participating veterinarian. Feel free to call us at (626) 286-1159 for 
more information on Dollar and Peso. 

 

See our website at www.sgvhumane.org for information and photos of all our available pets. 


Happy Tails

 Nothing makes me happier than to hear stories about 
people who go out of their way to assist animals in need, 
and with the mind-boggling number of shelter pets being 
euthanized in our country every day, I can’t think of a better way to help than to do what one can to 
save the lives of those animals waiting for their deadline on death row.

 To me it is especially heart-warming when celebrities use their fame and fortune to help benefit 
programs that can prevent shelter animals from meeting their ultimate doom behind bars. Indeed, 
actors, artists and athletes who take the time out of their busy lives to share their celebrity power and 
resources in order to benefit rescued animals are among my favorite humans. It would be so easy to 
ignore the need, and no one would judge them if they didn’t pitch in, yet they do it because they are 
truly compassionate about the cause.

 One man who chose to make a difference for the better on behalf of the animals is National Hockey 
League’s St. Louis Blues captain, Dave Backes. Although I have to admit I am not a huge sports fan, 
hockey is one sport that I do enjoy watching. That might be because my dad played hockey when he 
was growing up in Massachusetts, and later when I was young, he took me to several UAH hockey 
games in Huntsville, AL. They were the standing college league champs at the time, so it was a very 
exciting experience for me to witness their repeated victories, season after season.

 Dave Backes has used his sports celebrity status to help break the ice between would-be pet 
shoppers and shelter pets, by exposing the fact that, just because a dog or cat ends up in a shelter 
does not make it an undesirable pet. In fact, on the contrary most of the animals that are ultimately 
adopted from shelters turn out to be among the most grateful and loyal pets you could possibly hope 
to own!

 A veteran of almost 500 NHL games, Backes has succeeded in taking rescue to the next level, by 
being a tireless supporter of animal rescue and by setting an example and sharing his own personal 
experience with adopting shelter pets himself. Backes got his first taste of animal rescue as a young 
boy when his family took in a small Poodle a neighbor no longer wanted. With that seed planted early 
in his life, Backes’ interest in animal rescue truly took hold when he and his wife Kelly were students 
at Minnesota State University, Mankato. That’s when he began volunteering at a local shelter.

 When Backes and his wife moved to St. Louis, Mo., to be part of the Blues organization in 2007, 
they sought out ways to become involved in the community and found Five Acres Animal Shelter in 
St. Charles. During their time of involvement with the shelter, they worked on numerous projects, 
including a $1 million capital campaign to finance the construction of two new buildings. Recently, 
Kelly and David stepped away from their duties on the Five Acres’ board to concentrate on the next 
step; the formation of their very own rescue organization!

 Backes now hopes to share his and Kelly’s good work in organizing an animal rescue, as a template 
for players in all four major sports to use in starting more rescue facilities in cities throughout the 
United States. What an awesome way to play it forward! A major part of that good work is educating 
the public on animal adoption, and networking with others who are equally compassionate about the 
cause.

 At the heart of Backes’ goal to proliferate the idea of adoption, is his effort to convince people 
who are considering pet ownership that rescued animals actually make excellent pets. His desire is to 
prove through his own experience and that of millions of other Americans who have adopted rather 
than shopped, that shelter pets waiting for forever homes are equally worthy and valuable to any pet 
you might find by shopping from backyard breeders or puppy farms. Indeed, many adopted shelter 
animals have proven to have less health problems and even less behavioral issues than those bred and 
sold intentionally.

 I hope David and Kelly Backes will continue their good work, and succeed in clearing the air and 
breaking the ice, to help more and more shelter animals find homes before it’s too late. The idea that a 
pet is better because it was bred from a well-known sire, or because it has all the proper marks for it’s 
breed is simply passe. It’s time for all of us to re-think the concept of pet ownership. We humans have 
allowed far too much “accidental” breeding to occur by not spaying and euthanizing, and we have also 
exacerbated the problem through encouraging intentional breeding by shopping and not adopting.

 Let’s all get on board with David and Kelly Backes and use whatever resources we have to help 
educate others on the value of adopting rescued shelter pets. I myself am a witness to the fact that 
adopting versus shopping can be one of the most uplifting experiences in life. Knowing that I was able 
to save the lives of such grateful souls as my two girls, Tater and Molly brings me an immense amount 
of joy. I only wish I could save more. We all need to do our part to turn the table on mass euthanasia 
in our country. Simply put, it is a cruel and unusual practice.

 Kudos to you, David 
and Kelly Backes, for 
using your celebrity 
powers for such an 
awesome cause. Keep 
up the good work, and 
thank you for having so 
much compassion for 
the animals!

 Source: Bark 
Magazine, Spring 2014.

PET OF THE WEEK: RILEY 

ANIMAL ID #A4700680 


Meet Riley, an adorable little pup whose 
good looks and sweet personality are sure 
to steal anyone’s heart! Riley (A4700680) 
is a cheerful 7-month-old tan-and-white 
male Terrier mix puppy who was found 
in Covina and brought to the Baldwin 
Park Animal Care Center on April 24th. 
Weighing almost 12 pounds, Riley is a 
sweet, scruffy-bearded boy who loves 
to cuddle and get belly rubs! He walks 
OK on the leash but prefers to be held 
and carried. In fact, if you are holding 
him and set him down, he immediately 
runs right back to you and crawls back 
into your lap! This gorgeous boy with 
stunning hazel eyes has roommates at the 
shelter and gets along happily with them, 
so we predict that he will get along well in a multi-dog household. Riley will make a great indoor 
pet for any individual or family living in any situation. To see a video of Riley, please visit: http://
youtu.be/UcQSie28uC0

 To meet Riley in person, please see him at the Baldwin Park Shelter, located at 4275 N. Elton, 
Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (Phone: 626-430-2378 or 626-962-3577). He is available now. For any 
inquiries about Riley, please reference his animal ID number: A4700680. 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 Riley or the adoption process, 
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/.