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- Written by: Tim Stephens
Among the oddities of the outer solar system are the middle-sized moons of Saturn, a half-dozen icy bodies dwarfed by Saturn’s massive moon Titan.
According to a new model for the origin of the Saturn system, these middle-sized moons were spawned during giant impacts in which several major satellites merged to form Titan.
Erik Asphaug, professor of Earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, presented this new hypothesis Oct. 19 at the annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society in Reno, Nevada.
Asphaug and his coauthor, Andreas Reufer of the University of Bern, Switzerland, also describe their model in detail in a paper to be published in Icarus.
Asphaug and Reufer propose that the Saturn system started with a family of major satellites comparable to the four large moons of Jupiter (known as the Galilean moons, discovered by Galileo in 1610).
The Galilean moons account for 99.998 percent of the mass in Jupiter’s satellite system; although it has dozens of small satellites, Jupiter has no middle-sized moons. The new model may explain why the two systems are so different.
“We think that the giant planets got their satellites kind of like the Sun got its planets, growing like miniature solar systems and ending with a stage of final collisions,” Asphaug said. “In our model for the Saturn system, we propose that Titan grew in a couple of giant impacts, each one combining the masses of the colliding bodies, while shedding a small family of middle-sized moons.”
Earth is thought to have undergone a similar kind of giant impact, in which our planet gained the last ten percent of its mass and spawned the moon.
Just as our moon is thought to be made out of material similar to Earth’s rocky mantle, the middle-sized moons of Saturn are made of material similar to Titan’s icy mantle, Asphaug said.
“Our model explains the diversity of these ice-rich moons and the evidence for their very active geology and dynamics,” he said. “It also explains a puzzling fact about Titan, in that a giant impact would give it a high orbital eccentricity.”
Asphaug and Reufer used computer simulations to study the giant impact scenario, and they found that mergers of satellites the size of the Galilean moons can liberate ice-rich spiral arms, mostly from the outer layers of the smaller of the colliding moons.
Gravitational clumping of the spiral arms then leads to the formation of clumps with sizes and compositions that resemble Saturn’s middle-sized moons.
“These satellite collisions are a regime that is not very well understood, so the modeling opens up new possibilities in general for planet formation,” Reufer said.
The proposed mergers might have occurred as the final act in the process of satellite formation.
Alternatively, Saturn may have had a stable system of Galilean-like satellites that was later disrupted by the possibly chaotic migration of the giant planets, as described in the popular “Nice model” of the solar system. A late origin has the advantage of explaining some of the most striking features of the Saturn system.
“What makes the Saturn system so beautiful and unique could be its youth,” Asphaug said. “While we don’t have a preferred timeframe for this origin scenario to play out, it could have happened recently if something came along to destabilize the Saturn system, triggering the collisional mergers that formed Titan. This ‘something’ could have been the close passage of a marauding Uranus and Neptune, which is part of the Nice model.”
Asphaug acknowledged a couple of dynamical issues raised by the new model.
The clumps spawned from the giant impacts might get swept up into the accretion of Titan, rather than evolving into separate moons with their own stable orbits.
Additional simulations of the dynamical evolution of the complicated, accreting system are needed to further explore and validate the model.
But Asphaug said new data from NASA’s Cassini mission on the geophysics of Saturn’s moons will provide the ultimate tests.
“Our model makes strong predictions for how Titan was assembled, what the middle-sized moons are made of, and how they started out as rapidly spinning clumps of ice-rich material,” he said. “So it’s testable. These little moons could provide the clues telling us what happened, and when.”
This research was funded by NASA, the University of California, and the Swiss National Science Foundation.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Firefighters finished the work of fully containing a wildland fire south of Lower Lake on Saturday evening.
The 29 Fire, which started Thursday afternoon off of Highway 29 near Murphy Springs Road, was fully contained at 300 acres, according to Cal Fire.
The fire’s cause remains under investigation, officials said.
Within the first day the fire had reached its full size, resulting in evacuation orders and a highway closure, and destroying a residence, seven outbuildings, 10 acres of vineyard, 12 pieces of equipment and 11 vehicles, Cal Fire said.
Firefighters were able to protect dozens more homes in the Murphy Springs and Twin Lakes areas.
A Red Cross shelter had been set up at Lower Lake High School as officials ordered mandatory evacuations for the Murphy Springs area and voluntary evacuations for the Twin Lakes Subdivision.
Twin Lakes residents’ voluntary evacuation order was lifted Thursday night and the Murphy Springs residents had their mandatory order lifted Friday afternoon, as Lake County News has reported.
All of the Pacific Gas and Electric customers who had lost power because of the fire – originally estimated at about 30 – have had their service restored, officials said.
Mop up and fire suppression damage repairs are continuing in the fire area, where smoke may still be visible for several days, Cal Fire reported.
Cal Fire, which had incident command on the 29 Fire, said it was preparing to begin releasing resources from the scene.
Still assigned on Saturday night are 363 personnel, 34 fire engines and 16 fire crews, Cal Fire said.
Drivers are asked to use caution when driving in the fire’s vicinity due to firefighting personnel and equipment continuing to work on mop up.
Cooperating agencies include Cal Fire, Lake County Fire Protection, Kelseyville Fire, Lakeport Fire, Northshore Fire, South Lake County Fire, Williams Fire Department, US Forest Service, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, American Red Cross, Lake Evacuation and Animal Protection, Lake County Animal Care and Control, the California Highway Patrol, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Caltrans, Lake County Public Health Department, Lake County Road Department and PG&E.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Pass your mouse over the blue bubbles over each community to see the number of unemployed for that area in September 2012. The filter and layer boxes partially obscuring the map may be closed by clicking on the small green arrows on the edges.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – State and federal officials said on Friday that unemployment rates across Lake County, California and the nation showed declines in September, with the latest rates coming in among the lowest in several years.
The California Employment Development Department said Lake County’s preliminary September unemployment rate is 13.4 percent, down from 14 percent in August and 15 percent in September 2011.
It’s the county’s lowest unemployment rate since December 2008 – the 13.4 percent rate was, incidentally, the highest rate for 2008 – and earned the county a rank of No. 49 statewide last month, the agency reported.
California’s unemployment rate – derived from a federal survey of 5,500 California households – was 10.2 percent in September, compared to 10.6 percent in August and 11.7 percent in September 2011.
California’s nonfarm jobs in September totaled 14,347,900, an increase of 8,500 jobs over the month, according to a survey of 42,000 businesses that is larger and less variable statistically that the federal household survey.
The state said the year-over-year change – September 2011 to September 2012 – showed an increase of 262,000 jobs, or a 1.9-percent increase.
The Friday report said California has gained 505,600 jobs since the economic recovery began in February 2010.
The 10.2-percent unemployment rate California saw in September was the lowest for the state since February 2009, when the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 10.1 percent, according to Employment Development Department records.
Nationally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said September’s unemployment rate was 7.8 percent, which also is the lowest nationwide unemployment rate since February 2009, the agency reported. The August nationwide unemployment rate was 8.1 percent and the September 2011 rate was 9 percent.
The bureau released a Friday report that said in September 41 states and the District of Columbia recorded lower unemployment, while six states posted increases and three states had no change.
In addition, 41 states and the District of Columbia registered unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, while six states experienced increases, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
Around California, the lowest unemployment rate in September once again was to be found in Marin, which had a 5.8 percent jobless rate, while Imperial came in at No. 58 with 28.5 percent unemployment.
Neighboring Napa County came in No. 3 in the state with 6.9 percent, while Sonoma was ranked No. 8 with 7.6 percent and Mendocino registered 8.8 percent, earning it the No. 17 slot, the state reported.
Other neighboring counties included Colusa, 14 percent, No. 53; Glenn, 12.4 percent, No. 43; and Yolo, 9 percent, No. 21.
Within Lake County, Clearlake Oaks had the highest unemployment in September, at 20.3 percent, followed by Nice, 19.8 percent; Clearlake, 19.5 percent; Lucerne, 14.2 percent; Middletown and Kelseyville, tied at 13.6 percent; Lakeport, 12.9 percent; Cobb, 11.9 percent; Lower Lake, 11.2 percent; Hidden Valley Lake, 11 percent; north Lakeport, 10.6 percent; and Upper Lake, 6.9 percent.
Dennis Mullins of the Employment Development Department’s North Coast Region Labor Market Information Division said Lake County’s wage and salary employment declined 140 jobs between August and September.
Seasonal farm layoffs – totaling 200 jobs – accounted for the bulk of the decline, entirely offsetting month-over local government gains, which Mullins said totaled 150 new jobs, resulting from area schools hiring for the new term.
Mullins said that for the year over, Lake is down 410 jobs with the net government cutbacks of 150 jobs accounting for over a third of the decline.
He said four industry sectors gained or were unchanged over the year and seven declined.
Year-over job growth occurred in private educational and health services, 10, and other services, 10, with manufacturing and leisure and hospitality showing no change, Mullins said.
Industries that Mullins said had declines over the year included farm, -210; mining, logging and construction, -20; trade, transportation and utilities, -30; information, -10; financial activities, -10; professional and business services, -10; and government, -150.
The Employment Development Department report also stated that during the September survey week 470,515 Californians received regular unemployment insurance benefits, compared with 501,158 last month and 494,882 last year.
At the same time, new claims for unemployment insurance were 48,017 in September 2012, compared with 51,467 in August and 53,861 in September of last year.
A closer look at California's job picture
The Employment Development Department’s report on payroll employment – wage and salary jobs – in California’s nonfarm industries totaled 14,347,900 in September, a net gain of 8,500 jobs since the August survey. August had seen a gain of 5,100 jobs.
In a year-over-year comparison – September 2011 to September 2012 – nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 262,000 jobs, up 1.9 percent, the report showed.
A federal survey of households, done with a smaller sample than the survey of employers, showed an increase in the number of employed people, estimating 16,457,000 Californians were employed in September. That was an increase of 53,000 jobs from August and up 203,000 from the employment total in September of last year.
The number of people unemployed in California in September was 1,876,000, down by 60,000 over the month and down by 277,000 compared with September of last year, the agency reported.
Other report findings from the Employment Development Department showed that six categories – trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; educational and health services; and leisure and hospitality – added jobs over the month, gaining 28,300 jobs. Leisure and hospitality posted the largest increase over the month, adding 10,700 jobs.
Five categories – mining and logging; construction; manufacturing; other services; and government – reported job declines over the month, down 19,800 jobs. Government posted the largest decrease over the month, down 6,400 jobs.
Seven categories – construction; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; educational and health services; and leisure and hospitality – posted job gains over the year, adding 319,600 jobs.
Professional and business services posted the largest gains on a numerical basis, adding 88,000 jobs, up 4.1 percent. Information posted the largest gains on a percentage basis, up 6 percent, adding 25,700 jobs.
Four categories – mining and logging; manufacturing; other services; and government – posted job declines over the year, down 57,600 jobs. Government posted the largest decline on both a numerical and percentage basis, down by 41,100 jobs, a 1.7 percent decrease.
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NICE, Calif. – A popular lakeside restaurant is now under new management and will celebrate its grand reopening this weekend.
The reopening celebration at the Boathouse Restaurant, located at 2685 Lakeshore Blvd. in Nice, will take place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20.
Jennifer McKnight and her mother, Cathy Farley, recently took over the restaurant.
McKnight said she and her mother have worked together in the food industry – from professional kitchens to private catering – for years. It has always been their dream to open a restaurant together.
So earlier this summer, when they found out that there was the opportunity to take over the restaurant portion of the business, “We decided to jump on the offer,” said McKnight.
They’ve been working on the project for two months, and opened three weeks ago, McKnight said.
“It’s been great,” she said, explaining that they’ve got a lot of helpful and constructive feedback from regulars, as well as a huge outpouring of support.
Those faithful customers have helped the mother-daughter team dial in their new menu, which has been in place about a week, McKnight said.
Some of the highlights of the dinner menu include beer battered fish and chips using fresh caught rock cod and beer battered prawns and chips – McKnight said the beer batter is a secret recipe – plus three cheese tortellini and a new rib eye steak.
McKnight said the lunch menu includes burgers built to order, a variety of salads and a very popular bunless burger served in a bowl of hot au jus.
They’ve also recently started serving breakfast, and plan to soon offer a champagne brunch, said McKnight.
Saturday evening’s grand reopening celebration will offer guests the chance to get to know the menu by enjoying free appetizers and free dessert samplers, she said.
There also will be dinner specials, promotions and giveaways, McKnight said.
The Boathouse Restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. Hours Thursday through Sunday are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; breakfast is available on those days.
For more information call the restaurant at 707-274-1100.
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