CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Two women were flown to an out-of-county hospital Sunday afternoon following a crash near Clearlake Oaks.

The two-vehicle collision occurred at about 1 p.m. at Highway 20 and Orchard Shores Drive, and partially blocked the roadway, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Northshore Fire, Cal Fire and the CHP responded, according to radio and CHP reports.

Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Jamie Crabtree said one of the vehicles had pulled out of the Orchard Shores parking lot and was t-boned by the second vehicle.

“Upon arrival the patients were up and moving around,” Crabtree said.

However, after putting the women into C-spine precautions, Crabtree said one of them appeared to have more serious injuries. In addition, the second woman was pregnant.

As a result, he said air ambulances were called to transport both of the women out of county.

REACH 1 and REACH 6 came in and landed near Orchard Shores to transport the patients, Crabtree said.

Crabtree said both women were flown to Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa County.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A new group of dogs, several of them seniors, as well as shepherd, spaniel and terrier mixes are at the shelter awaiting adoption this week.

The dogs range in age from 1 year up to 13 years old, and are medium to large in size.

Thanks to Lake County Animal Care and Control’s new veterinary clinic, many of the animals offered for adoption already are spayed or neutered and ready to go home with their new families.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

'Brody'

"Brody" is an older gentleman who has fallen on hard times.

The 7-year-old boxer mix was left by his owner at the shelter, and is hoping someone with a big heart will come along and give him a place to live out his senior years.

He has big brown eyes and floppy ears, a short brown brindle coat and a docked tail.

He already has been neutered and weighs nearly 90 pounds.

Find Brody in kennel No. 8, ID No. 34726.

Male husky mix

This 4 and a half year old male husky mix would like a new home, preferably not one with livestock.

He has gold eyes and erect ears, a short red and tan coat. He has been altered and weighs 56 pounds.

He's in kennel No. 10, ID No. 32738.

'Yeyo'

"Yelo" is a short, rather rotund fellow.

At age 13, he's another senior inmate at the shelter who need a good homes.

He is a Jack Russell terrier mix, with a short white and brown coat.

Yeyo has been neutered and is ready to move to new digs.

He's in kennel No. 11a, ID No. 34710.

Female pit bull terrier mix

This pretty female pit bull terrier mix is 1 year old.

She has a short brown and white coat, weighs nearly 37 pounds and has not been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 15, ID No. 34588.

Male pit bull terrier mix

This gold-eyed male pit bull terrier mix is 6 years old.

He is not yet neutered, weighs 43 pounds and has a short tan coat.

Shelter staff said has a an injury to his right ear, so he’ll need a little extra tender loving care.

Find him in kennel No. 17, ID No. 34586.

Shepherd-pit bull mix

This 1-year-old female shepherd-pit bull mix is looking forward to a new home.

She appears to have a cheerful disposition, is of medium size at 36 pounds, and has a short red and white coat, along with brown eyes and floppy ears. Shelter staff did not report if she was altered or not.

Meet her in kennel No. 18, ID No. 34691.

Female shepherd mix

This friendly 1-year-old female shepherd mix would like to get busy playing in your yard.

She has a short black and brown coat. It was not reported if she was altered or not.

Find her in kennel No. 20, ID No. 34623.

Springer spaniel mix

This 2-year-old female springer spaniel mix looks like a lot of fun, sticking her tongue out for the camera.

She has a beautiful long brown and white coat, floppy ears and brown eyes.

Shelter staff said she has been altered and weighs 45 pounds.

She's in kennel No. 21, ID No. 34681.

Please note: Dogs listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A visiting football team’s cheerleader was injured while practicing before a Saturday afternoon football game and was flown to a regional trauma center as a precaution.

The cheerleader, with St. Vincent High’s squad, was at Upper Lake High School Saturday afternoon for a football game when she was injured, according to Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Adam Thoman.

Thoman said the cheerleader and her teammates were doing some practice maneuvers, and she was thrown into the air.

She landed on another cheerleader and hit her head and neck, he said.

Because of her age and concerns for head and neck trauma, Thoman said the decision was made to fly her out of the county as a precautionary measure.

“She was moving her upper and lower extremities, which is a good sign,” Thoman said.

The REACH 6 air ambulance was directed to land at the high school’s athletic field to pick the girl up, according to radio traffic.

Thoman said the teenager was flown to UC Davis Medical Center.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A woman was flown out of the county after she crashed her vehicle on Highway 29 early Sunday morning.

The crash occurred at about 3:30 a.m. on Highway 29 just north of Mockingbird Lane, according to radio reports.

Firefighters from Northshore Fire responded, with Lakeport Fire also responding on mutual aid. Radio reports indicated Lake County Sheriff’s deputies and the California Highway Patrol also were at the scene.

The single vehicle – a description of which was not immediately available – overturned and blocked the southbound lane.

Northshore Fire’s battalion chief called for an air ambulance to transport the female patient.

REACH 6 responded to the Sutter Lakeside helipad to fly the woman out of the county.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A series of large earthquakes off the western coast of Canada resulted in a tsunami advisory that was issued for the coast of Northern California and Oregon.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Queen Charlotte Islands shortly at 8:04 p.m. Saturday, according to the US Geological Survey.

That major quake had triggered nearly 30 significant aftershocks measuring between 3.9 and 5.1 on the Richter Scale by 4 a.m. Sunday, the survey reported.

The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued the tsunami advisory just before midnight Saturday.

It was in effect for the coastal areas of Douglas and Lane counties in Oregon, 10 miles southwest of Florence, and south to Gualala Point in California, 80 miles northwest of San Francisco in Mendocino County.

Shortly before midnight Crescent City and Arena Cove reported waves that were about 1.3 feet high, the highest waves reported along the Northern California coast, according to the warning center.

At about the same time the center said San Francisco reported waves at a third of a foot and Monterey Bay quarter-foot waves an hour later.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for the Hawaiian Islands Saturday night. Residents in certain areas of the islands were evacuating to higher ground, with the first wave expected late Saturday night.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A Montana woman was arrested earlier this week for driving under the influence and charges related to marijuana possession and sales, with a search of her car also yielding the discovery of a large amount of cash.

Dixie Rae Post, 52, a bookkeeper from Glendive, Mont., was pulled over by California Highway Patrol Josh Dye on Highway 20 east of New Long Valley Road early Tuesday afternoon.

CHP Officer Kory Reynolds said Post initially was reported as a possible drunk driver.

Dye came up behind Post’s SUV, observed poor driving consistent with drunk driving and pulled her over, Reynolds said.

As a result of the stop, Reynolds said Dye determined Post was impaired and arrested her for driving under the influence.

A search of Post’s car following her arrest led to the discovery of marijuana and $17,000 in cash, stored in different locations throughout the vehicle, Reynolds said. Dye was backed up by several other CHP officers during the search.

Such discoveries during traffic stops are “becoming more common,” Reynolds said.

Dye arrested Post on misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence and possession of more than 28.5 grams of marijuana, and felony charges of selling or furnishing marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale, according to jail records.

Post’s bail was set at $20,000. Jail records indicated she later paid the required percentage of bail and was released.

Post is scheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court for arraignment on Dec. 11, according to her booking sheet.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The 2012 fire season has been one of the worst in memory, with Lake County not only ringed by major wildland fires but also experiencing major incidents within its borders.

Although it’s October, fire season is still in effect, according to state and local fire officials.

Read more ...

UKIAH, Calif. – A serial bank robber was convicted on Friday of having committed the August robbery of the Redwood Credit Union in Point Arena.  

Admitting responsibility in Ukiah before Superior Court Judge Clayton Brennan Friday afternoon, Frederick Orlando, 55, of Magalia, pleaded guilty to the August robbery and admitted nine separate sentencing enhancements.

As summarized during that court hearing by District Attorney David Eyster, Orlando traveled from Magalia to Point Arena, entered the credit union with another man, brandished a handgun at bank tellers and customers, demanded money from the cash drawers, and then herded all the people to a back room.  

He and a co-defendant then attempted to make their escape east on Fish Rock Road with the stolen money. However, the getaway car was boxed in on that rural, dirt road by Sheriff’s Deputy Luis Espinoza coming in from the east and California Highway Patrol Officer Terry Solomon pursuing from the west.

Orlando has been held since August in the Mendocino County jail with bail set at over $1 million, officials reported.

His jury trial had been scheduled to begin on Nov. 26 but, instead, a sentencing hearing is now scheduled for Nov. 21, according to Eyster's office.

Eyster noted the sentencing of Orlando will only be a formality because Orlando, through his counsel, agreed on the record with Eyster that Orlando shall receive a stipulated state prison sentence of 45 years to life.

According to Eyster, he prosecuted Orlando under California’s Three Strikes laws because the defendant previously served time in a federal penitentiary for four separate bank robberies in Southern California. Orlando also served state prison time for a residential burglary conviction in the 1980s.  

“While Orlando targeted Point Arena because he believed it to be a sleepy, coastal town with few people around and even fewer law enforcement officers to interfere,” said Eyster, “he didn’t appreciate the great cooperation and communication that exists on our South Coast between the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, Fish and Game wardens and Sonoma County’s Sheriff’s Office.”   

According to investigators, Orlando remains a suspect in other bank robberies, including at least one that involves a Forestville bank.

It has also been reported that Orlando has confessed while in the Mendocino County Jail to being responsible for a 30-year-old unsolved murder in Southern California.   

Orlando’s defense attorney is Public Defender Linda Thompson. The prosecution of Orlando has been handled by Eyster and Assistant District Attorney Paul Sequeira.

SANTA ROSA, Calif. – Authorities have arrested a Clearlake man and another suspect for a gang-related stabbing and hate crime that occurred in Sonoma County over the summer.

Aaron Welch, 26, of Clearlake and Salvatore Bordessa, 32, of Windsor were arrested in the case, according to a Santa Rosa Police Statement.

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office detectives and Lake County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Welch without incident at 6 a.m. Thursday after he was seen leaving a Clearlake residence, Santa Rosa Police reported.  

Welch and Bordessa were both booked into the Sonoma County Jail, with bail for each set at $1 million. Charges against them include assault with a deadly weapon, two gang enhancements, terrorist threats, dissuading a witness, and a hate crime.

On Thursday detectives from the Santa Rosa Police Department Gang Crimes Team concluded an investigation into a gang-related stabbing which occurred in August, the agency reported.

On Aug. 26 at approximately 1:30 a.m. Santa Rosa Police officers responded to an assault in the area of Santa Rosa Avenue and Yolanda Avenue, police reported.

Upon their arrival, officers located two victims of an assault, both of whom were black, police said. One of the victims had sustained multiple stab wounds in the shoulder and leg.

The suspects were described as two white male adults with several tattoos who left in a pickup truck. Santa Rosa Police said gang investigators were called out to assist in the investigation and have been looking into the assault over the last several weeks.

Detectives learned that the two victims, who are 24 and 29 years old, were in the McDonald’s parking lot at the corner of Santa Rosa Avenue and Yolanda Avenue. Police said the two male suspects and a female were across the street in a pick up truck.

The male suspects were verbally harassing subjects in the area. The suspects turned their attention to the victims and began yelling at them. The suspects called the victims racial slurs and yelled “White Pride,” and also shouted out the name of a local gang known to have ties to white supremacy beliefs, according to the police report.

The suspects attacked the victims by trying to stab them, but were unsuccessful. Police said the suspects left but returned a few minutes later, when they came through the bushes and attacked the victims with knives again.

One of the victims was stabbed in the shoulder and fell to the ground, police reported. The suspect stabbed the victim again while he was still on the ground several times in the leg area. The victim was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening wounds.

One of the victims attempted to call 911 and the suspects took the phone away, preventing them from calling for help. After the stabbing, the suspects fled to the pickup truck which was parked across the street and left the area, police reported.

The investigation led to the identification of two subjects, Welch and Bordessa, who are known to associate with a local gang. Santa Rosa Police reported that a search warrant and arrest warrants were issued for the men.

On Thursday morning authorities stopped Welch in a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle. He was arrested and transported to the Sonoma County Jail.

At approximately 7 a.m. the same day, officers from the Santa Rosa Police Department SWAT Team and Gang Crimes Team executed a search warrant in the 9000 Block of Orion Drive in Windsor. Police said Bordessa was stopped in a vehicle leaving the residence just prior to the execution of the search warrant. He was taken into custody without incident.

In addition to the vehicle, detectives located evidence of gang association in the residence and a marijuana grow in the garage, police said.

The arrest of the suspects and evidence at the Windsor residence led to an additional search warrant 15000 block of 33rd Avenue in Clearlake. The report said additional marijuana was found at that second location.

Detectives are still trying to identify the female who was with the suspects. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Santa Rosa Police Department Gang Crimes Team at 707-543-3670.

 
Writing about farro (pronounced FAR-oh) reminds me of reciting the adage that has dictated a bride’s attire for centuries: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”
 
Well, maybe without the borrowed and blue part.
 
Farro is both old and new in that it’s an ancient grain that has made a recent resurgence in the foodie community, even becoming the “grain du jour” in some upscale restaurants over the last few years.
 
I tasted it for the first time some months ago when my sister-in-law brought a salad home from a catered business lunch. Colorful roasted vegetables accented the farro in the dish, and I thought the grain resembled a plump version of barley. It also had the chewy texture of that grain.
 
As a barley fan since early childhood, I pronounced it delicious and looked forward to learning more about it and adding it to my culinary repertoire.
 
Farro, also known as emmer wheat, is a cereal grain that dates back some 20,000 years. The first cultivated grain, it’s the ancestor of modern wheat.
 
It fed the Mediterranean and Near Eastern populations for thousands of years, and was the primary grain grown by early Egyptians.
 
The Roman legions discovered farro during their occupation of Egypt, and it eventually became a staple grain for them.
 
Writer Nico Valerio opines that it was the high protein and vitamin content of “grano farro” (as it’s known in Italian) that was the foundation of the Romans’ military prowess. In other words, it was farro, not “ferro” (that is, metal weapons) that created the Empire.
 
The Romans boiled farro or made bread from its flour, and the grain’s slow release of energy was reinforced by greens, fruit and cheese. According to Valerio, these were ideal foods for Roman warrior/farmers who “founded the republic and went on to conquer the world.”
 
In addition, farro was a staple of the Roman poor, who ground it into a paste and cooked it to make a polenta-like dish known as “puls.”
 
Despite its importance as a food, farro eventually fell out of favor. It was difficult to work and produced low yields.
 
In the centuries following the fall of the Roman Empire, higher-yielding and easier-to-grow grains were developed and cultivation of farro dwindled.
 
By just over a hundred years ago, at the turn of the last century, there were only a few hundred acres of farro fields scattered over the Italian regions of Lazio, Umbria, the Marches and Tuscany.
 
Thankfully, this wonderful grain has been unearthed in recent years.

 
Farmers in the Haute-Savoie region of neighboring France began supplying farro to elegant restaurants, and its successful use in hearty soups and other dishes sparked renewed interest in the grain.
 
Farro’s popularity spread among gastronomes, and a love of farro has been rekindled in Italy, especially among trendy and health-conscious cooks.
 
It can be found in soups, salads, and even desserts in that country. A risotto-like dish may be made with it as well, cleverly dubbed by some as farrotto.
 
In Florence, farro salad is a popular lunchtime dish, often simply adorned with fresh basil, chopped tomatoes, and mozzarella. In the winter, “zuppa di farro,” a hearty vegetable soup, is a staple there.
 
What had morphed into an obscure local crop has now become a phenomenon in the culinary world, with Tuscany’s Garfagnana area granted “Protected Geographical Indication” status for its Farro della Garfagnana.
 
Farro’s rich, nutty flavor and chewy texture makes a delightful base for salads of all types.
 
Roasted vegetables from squashes to beets, fresh tender greens, cheeses like ricotta salata or Parmigiano Reggiano, toasted nuts, or lightly cooked vegetables like asparagus or peas are nice complements to farro.
 
The only limit is your imagination.
 
As to soup, use farro as you would barley, allowing it to cook in the broth to absorb wonderful flavor.
 
Farro can also be used as a side dish, similar to rice. Its flour makes beautiful pasta and breads.
 
Cooked dried beans of all types are wonderful companions for farro in both salads and soups, forming a complete protein when eaten together.
 
Since farro is imported from a small swath of Italian regions, it may be difficult to find in the supermarket, but give it a try. Thankfully, it’s available in well-stocked Italian delis, specialty and natural food stores, and online.
 
Because it’s a low-yield crop, it’s a pricey little grain. I paid over $5 (on sale) for just over a pound of it, but I’m happy I did.
 
Semi-pearled farro, or “farro perlato,” cooks much more quickly than farro with its tough hull intact. The version I purchased cooked in about 20 minutes. With the hull, it can take up to an hour.
 
Farro is often confused with spelt (the same word in Latin refers to both), but they are different grains. Farro maintains its dense, chewy structure when cooked, whereas spelt becomes mushy.
 
I just made an immune-boosting soup with healthy farro as the grain. The nutty scent emitted while cooking was rich and enticing.
 
I added farro to the soup for its flavor and texture, but it turns out the grain has immune-boosting qualities, thanks to a carbohydrate it contains called cyanogenic glucosides. This carbohydrate also lowers cholesterol and helps maintain blood sugar levels.
 
Farro has twice the fiber and protein than modern wheat. While it does contain gluten, the gluten molecules are weaker than in modern wheat, making it more easily digested.
 
A quick search online for farro recipes will yield wonderful results. For today’s recipe, I chose a warm farro salad with roasted vegetables from food blog www.thekitchn.com .
 
For vegetarians, this warm, comforting salad can be enjoyed as a main dish; meat eaters may chose to use it as a hearty side dish or add cooked bacon or strips of prosciutto to make it complete.
 
Enjoy! And happy Sunday.
 
Warm farro salad with roasted vegetables and fontina

Serves two to three as a main dish

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 cup grape tomatoes
6-8 cremini mushrooms, cut into small chunks
4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
1 small red onion, sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 of a small head of radicchio, cored and sliced into chunks
1 cup farro
2-3 ounces fontina cheese, cut into small cubes
small handful of chopped parsley
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, and onion in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Spread the vegetables on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper, and roast for 15 minutes, stirring once.

Add the radicchio to the pan, toss to get it covered in a bit of oil, and cook everything for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse and drain the farro. Bring 2 cups of water to boil, season with salt, and add the farro. Cook for 12-15 minutes, until soft but still chewy in the center. Drain.

Combine the cooked farro and vegetables, then add the fontina and parsley. Whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the balsamic vinegar, seasoning with salt and pepper, and drizzle over the farro mixture.

Esther Oertel, a freelance writer, cooking teacher, and speaker, is passionate about local produce and all foods in the vegetable kingdom. She welcomes your questions and comments and may be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The heat-seeking capabilities of the international Cassini spacecraft and two ground-based telescopes have provided the first look at the aftermath of Saturn’s “Great Springtime Storm.”

Concealed from the naked eye, a giant oval vortex is persisting long after the visible effects of the storm subsided.

The ground-based observations were made by the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory in Chile, and NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility at the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

The vivid cloud structures that wreaked havoc across wide swathes of the mid-northern latitudes of Saturn’s atmosphere captured the imaginations of amateur and professional astronomers alike, from its first appearance in December 2010 through much of 2011.

But in new reports that focus on the temperatures, winds and composition of Saturn’s atmosphere, scientists find that the spectacular cloud displays were only part of the story.

Much of the associated activity took place beyond the reach of visible-light cameras, and the after-effects are still continuing today.

“It’s the first time we’ve seen anything like it on any planet in the Solar System,” said Leigh Fletcher from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, lead author of the Icarus paper.

“It’s extremely unusual, as we can only see the vortex at infrared wavelengths – we can’t tell that it is there simply by looking at the cloud cover,” Fletcher said.

As the visible storm erupted in the roiling cloud deck of Saturn’s troposphere, waves of energy rippled hundreds of kilometers upwards, depositing their energy as two vast ‘beacons’ of hot air in the stratosphere.

The beacons were expected to cool down and dissipate, but by late April 2011 – by which time bright cloud material had encircled the entire planet – the hot spots had merged to create an enormous vortex that for a brief period exceeded even the size of Jupiter’s famous Great Red Spot.

Furthermore, the temperature of the vortex was far higher than expected, some 80ºC warmer than the surrounding atmosphere. At the same time, huge spikes in the amount of gases like ethylene and acetylene were detected.

Much like the Great Red Spot, Saturn’s vortex also cuts off the atmosphere in its core from the surrounding environment, constraining its unique chemistry and high temperatures within the walls of the powerful winds whipping around the edge.

“But Jupiter’s vortex is embedded deep down in the turbulent ‘weather zone’, whereas the vast vortex on Saturn is higher up in the atmosphere where, normally, you wouldn’t expect anything like it to have formed,” said Fletcher.

“Although there are parallels to be drawn between the two, the mechanisms by which they were formed and the length of time they are going to exist seem to be very different,” Fletcher added.

Jupiter’s famous vortex has raged for at least 300 years, but after traversing the planet once every 120 days since May 2011, Saturn’s large beacon is cooling and shrinking. Scientists expect it to fade away completely by the end of 2013.

The question now remains as to whether Saturn’s storm-generating energy has been sapped or if there will be a repeat performance.

The outburst already caught observers by surprise by arriving during the planet’s northern hemisphere spring, years ahead of the predictably stormy summer season.

“The beauty is that Cassini will be operating until the Saturn system reaches its summer solstice in 2017, so if there is another global event like this, we’ll be there to see it,” said ESA’s Cassini project scientist Nicolas Altobelli.

An international team of astronomers has caught a star in the act of devouring one of its planets.

BD+48 740, a red giant they observed using the 9.2-meter Hobby-Eberly Telescope at the McDonald Observatory in Texas, appears to have the fumes of a scorched planet in its atmosphere. This is consistent with a rocky world, recently destroyed.

Could the same thing happen to Earth?

Yes indeed, said Alex Wolszczan, a member of the research team from Penn State University: “A similar fate may await the inner planets in our solar system when the sun becomes a red giant some five billion years from now.”

Researchers who specialize in stellar evolution have long known that the inner planets are in danger.

The trouble starts in the distant future when the sun’s core runs out of hydrogen fuel for nuclear fusion.

To keep the fires burning, the sun will begin to fuse hydrogen outside the core, in a layer closer to the stellar surface. This will turn the sun into a red giant, at least 200 times wider than it is today. Mercury, Venus, Earth and possibly even Mars could be engulfed.

The fate of Earth is not a certainty, however.

Some researchers believe that Earth’s orbit might spiral outward, keeping the planet at a safe distance from the approaching inferno.

This could happen if solar winds carry away a significant fraction of the sun’s mass in the years leading up to the red giant phase.

On the other hand, the sun might expand so quickly that our planet has no chance to escape. Earth would get caught in the sun’s rapidly advancing atmosphere and spiral inward to oblivion.

Observations of red giant BD+48 740 lend credence to the second possibility.

“Our detailed spectroscopic analysis of BD+48 740 reveals that the red giant contains an abnormally high amount of lithium,” said Monika Adamow who led the study at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland.

Because lithium is easily destroyed in stars, finding lots of it in an old red giant is unexpected.  The most likely source is a planet.

Wolszczan explained: “It is probable that the lithium production in BD+48 740 was triggered by a mass the size of a planet that spiraled into the star and heated up while the star was digesting it.”

The team found another piece of evidence, too. BD+48 740 has a gas giant planet 1.6 times bigger than Jupiter which has not yet been devoured.  

The big planet has a highly elliptical orbit. In fact, it is the most elliptical orbit ever found for a planet around an older star. Its orbit, which almost surely started out circular, was probably altered by some catastrophic event--like its star having an inner planet for lunch.

One day, he said, our own solar system may end up the same way.  In five billion years, the fried planet could be Earth.

The original research of Adamov et al may be found in their article “BD+48 740 – Li overabundant giant star with a planet. A case of recent engulfment?”

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.