Veterans’ service organizations have lobbied for these benefits, but with the expectation that newly authorized programs would be fully funded.

Last year, even as the once-steady stream of extra dollars for the Department of Veterans Affairs slowed to a trickle, lawmakers continued to add new programs.

Veteran groups are getting nervous.

They worry that VA, burdened with new “unfunded mandates,” has no other choice but to launch these new programs and pay for them by dipping into dollars needed for other services veterans already rely on.

Recent bills enacted that weren’t fully paid for included the important caregiver law for families of the most seriously disabled veterans and expansion of female veterans’ health benefits, including single parent childcare services, at VA medical facilities.

Joseph Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, raised the touchy issue June 8 at a hearing of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee where lawmakers and lobbyists considered the merits of 35 new bills aimed at helping veterans.

Violante acknowledged that delegates to DAV’s own convention last August passed numerous resolutions in support of a lot of the bills now before the committee or even enacted into law late last year.

“However, as Congress considers authorizing new programs or enhancing or expanding current programs,” he warned, “it is essential that they do so in manner that does not have negative effects on existing programs and services. In today’s economic environment, VA cannot be all things to all veterans, and their families and survivors, without obtaining substantially more resources, which are dependable and stable.”

New committee chairman Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) opened the hearing by touting her bills to lower veterans’ unemployment (S 951), and expand assistance to homeless veterans through improved grants, per diem, health care and case management services (S 1148).

Ranking Republican, Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.), advocated for his bill (S. 277) to extend eligibility for VA hospital care, medical services and nursing home care to as many as 600,000 veterans and family members stationed at Camp Lejeune during years well water there was contaminated.

Another Burr bill (S 423) would incentivize veterans to help deal with the backlog of claims by allow VA to pay disability benefits retroactively, for up to one year before a claim is filed, if the submitted claim is deemed “fully developed” to allow a swift decision.

VA opposes the bill. VSOs had mixed reactions. Raymond Kelley with Veterans of Foreign War said VFW likes the concept but sees a few problems including possible legal liability for VSO service officers who help to develop veterans’ claims.

Burr was the only senator at the hearing to acknowledge the looming national debt crisis, noting that the bills under consideration “would collectively spend billions of dollars” even as the country faces “staggering deficits and debt and is on a fiscal path that is simply unsustainable.”

So the committee must weigh affordability in deciding what bills to approve during mark-up at the end of June. Burr added, however, that government auditors believe by ending “overlap” in federal programs current services could improve and still save taxpayers billions of dollars a year.

“I will not shy away from providing those who have served and sacrificed for our nation with the benefits and services they need and deserve,” Burr said. “But I also want to make sure we pay for these benefits and services by cutting other spending.”

Violante noted that Congress generously raised VA budgets in recent years and so far has spared VA of the deep deficit-driven cuts being planned for many other federal departments.

But he warned senators if they want to increase veterans services, they must give VA the “time and resources” to deliver them properly.

The committee should not “forget its responsibility to ensure that when it mandates a new service in law, or admits a new eligible population to VA rolls, that sufficient resources accompany that mandate.”

If money to pay for new services isn’t part of the deal, Violante said, it “will only force VA to slice their budget pie into smaller pieces.”

VA officials testified at the hearing that Murray’s Hiring Heroes Act would cost the department only $65 million over 10 years. And a popular bill from Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Me.), to protect the solemnity of veteran funerals anti-gay protestors, would cost taxpayers nothing at all.

But Burr’s bill to allow retroactive effective dates of disability awards for veterans whose claims are deemed fully developed when submitted would cost $762 million over ten years.

His bill to extend VA hospital care and health services to Marine Corps and Navy veterans and their families assigned to Lejeune from 1957 until 1987, and therefore possibly exposed to contaminated water, would cost $4 billion over the first decade.

Veterans groups sympathize with the goal that bill but largely oppose it, saying the Department of Defense’s TRICARE program, not the VA, should be responsible for follow up care and services.

Retired Marine Master Sergeant Jerry Ensminger testified that his daughter, Janey, born while the family was assigned to Camp Lejeune, died of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 1985 when nine years old.

He blames chemicals found later in the tap water there, including two known carcinogens, benzene and vinyl chloride. He said the Marine Corps and Navy Department knew about the contamination for several years but failed to act.

He referred other potential victims to a Web site, www.tftptf.com, for more details. Ensminger said more than 170,000 members of the Camp Lejeune community have registered with the Marine Corps as having been exposed to the water at Lejeune sometime during the 30 year period.

In opposing the bill, VA cited numerous concerns including the “underlying scientific evidence” behind claims of contamination exposure.

To comment, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111 or visit: www.militaryupdate.com.

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Ronald Blesio, 34, of Nice, Calif., is believed to be the suspect responsible for stabbing two people at a gas station in Lakeport, Calif., early on Sunday, June 12, 2011. Lake County Jail photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Police said Sunday that a suspect in the early morning stabbings of two people remained at large while a vehicle he was believed to have driven from the scene was found abandoned later the same day.

Ronald James Blesio, 34, of Nice, was identified by the Lakeport Police Department as the suspect in the stabbings, which took place shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday at the Shell station at 975 S. Main St. in Lakeport, as Lake County News has reported.

Blesio allegedly drove a dark-colored 1990s model Toyota from the scene, according to police.

Police said Blesio is armed and dangerous, and being sought for two counts of attempted murder in connection with the incident.

Later on Sunday, the dark green Toyota – registered to an Upper Lake woman, according to radio reports – was found.

“We located the vehicle unoccupied in Lakeport and have confirmed it is the suspect vehicle from last night,” said Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.

Rasmussen said the vehicle was impounded for evidence processing.

Blesio, however, remained at large on Sunday, Rasmussen said.

The two stabbing victims had been taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital before one of them was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, according to Lakeport Police Sgt. Jason Ferguson.

On Sunday afternoon, Ferguson said the victim at Sutter Lakeside Hospital had been released, while the other, who had been taken to Santa Rosa, had undergone surgery.

Blesio had been arrested by members of the Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force on May 6 after a vehicle stop in which he was found with 165 marijuana plants, processed marijuana and other cultivation-related items in his car, as Lake County News has reported.

At the time of his May 6 arrest, Blesio had a $40,000 warrant for his arrest for possession of marijuana for sales, possession of a dangerous weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a sheriff's office report.

In January, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office had reported that a 34-year-old James Blesio of Nice had been stabbed in an altercation at Lake Mendocino, but it wasn't clear if the two men were the same person.

Ronald Blesio, who according to his most recent booking sheet works in construction, is described as a white male adult, 5 feet 11 inches tall, 190 pounds, with blue eyes and blond hair.

If Blesio is spotted don't confront him; call 911.

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Evelyn and George Hertslet embarked on a journey from England to California in 1885.

George’s brothers and a friend accompanied the two on their voyage across the Atlantic, and the family purchased a ranch at Burns Valley where a good-sized English community was based.

Being only in their 20s, the couple probably knew what a culture shock awaited them, but being young, they figured that they would adapt quickly to these life changes.

When the party reached their destination, they had about 500 pounds [$2,430 U.S.] left to buy their farm, build a house, and acquire livestock and other necessities.

If they had no other outlets to acquire more revenue, they would only have 100 pounds [$486 U.S.] a year to live on between all of them.

Born and bred accustomed to city life, Evelyn had to get used to bumpy dirt roads, living in a remote area, washing clothes and making almost everything from scratch by herself

George and his brothers, previously stock exchange workers, also had no experience whatsoever with outdoor labor, let alone farm life.

Despite all of that, they gave their all into roofing their new home, building fences, tending to animals and other strenuous tasks.

Eventually George would partner up with a gentleman named Beakbane, and get into the real estate business.

The main goal of the two partners was to encourage more English to relocate to the Burns Valley colony which had also established the game of Cricket in the area. The love for this game soon spread to other Lake County residents who came to enjoy and compete in it.

Evelyn wrote detailed accounts of her experiences on the ranch. One thing she didn’t count on though was the loneliness that she would experience, and having no one to understand her being so.

She mentions that “of course the boys, after working and joking together all day” didn’t understand her depression and thought she was just dissatisfied.

Another hardship was the weather. Evelyn wrote of it being 102 degrees at 9 o’clock in the morning. Preparing and cooking meals was an ordeal for a time. Evelyn continues, “I have not got over my disgust at touching raw meat, and especially the innards, the liver was most repulsive to touch and cut up.”

Evelyn eventually came to take great pleasure in her newly acquired cooking skills and in her farm animals, her “beloved” cow Becky and her calf in particular.

She wrote about the calf’s antics of trying to steal milk from its mother as she tried to extract some for herself. The calf would flick its tail in her face so she would have to brush it away, and then the calf would quickly move in and suckle.

Animals were such a big part of their life that George would even dream about them. “He [George] wakes me up three or four times with pouncing about in the wildest manner, and one night when he was clawing about all over the bed, I asked him what the matter was and he said he was catching the chickens!”

The Hertslets only lasted about 18 months before they realized that despite all of their efforts to make ranch life work for them it wasn’t going to happen.

Although it must have been a sad realization they had to have been satisfied with their efforts. They were not cut out for ranch life, and it was time for them return to England.

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Gov. Jerry Brown's office reported Monday that he signed North Coast Assemblyman Wes Chesbro's bill, AB 1020, which ratifies the tribe's gaming compact.

Chesbro's office said that the legislation, an urgency bill, immediately makes the compact law.

“With the governor’s signature, the only remaining hurdle is to get final approval from the U.S. Department of the Interior, with which the Tribe has already worked out an agreement,” Chesbro said. “The jackpot will be two to three hundred construction jobs for Lake County residents while the casino is being built. When the casino opens, the tribe will create an estimated 145 permanent, full-time jobs with benefits.”

According to Chesbro's office, AB 1020 enjoyed wide bipartisan support in the Legislature with no opposition, passing off the Assembly Floor 69-0 on May 23 and off the Senate Floor 40-0 last week.

State Sen. Noreen Evans coauthored AB 1020 and presented the bill on the Senate floor.

The tribe's efforts to work cooperatively with Lake County has earned it high marks from local officials and from state officials such as Chesbro.

“I can’t say enough how pleased I am with the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake Tribal Council for the groundwork it laid to make this project happen,” Chesbro said.

He pointed to the tribe's entry into a memorandum of understanding with Lake County that ensures the county’s interests are protected throughout the tribe’s project.

The tribe also has a memorandum of understanding with Northshore Fire Protection District, providing much-needed funding for this rural fire district that is suffering from budget cuts.

Additionally, the tribe has set aside more than 55 acres of land to assist with the Middle Creek Flood Damage Reduction Project, paid for wastewater expansion and funded a half million dollars in road improvements to Highway 20.

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These colorful cherries are fresh from the Lake County Farmers' Finest market held in Kelseyville, Calif., each Saturday morning from May through October. Photo by Esther Oertel.

If “life is just a bowl of cherries” as the song implies, then we’re truly blessed.

The welcome sight of these bright, shiny fruits snuggled together in a bowl is almost guaranteed to lift one’s spirits.

Colorful, sweet and tasty, cherries are nearly universally loved. And they’re healthy to boot, all of which bode well for a positive life.

The cherry blossoms of spring lead to fruit in the early summer (the peak of season is late June), and local farmers’ markets have them available now, fresh from the tree.

There are two species of cherry, sweet and sour.

Sweet cherries are the ones we find most often in markets (whether farmers’ or otherwise). High in sugar content – from 10 to 20 percent – sweet cherries are perfect for eating out of hand.

The popularity of sweet cherries is reflected in the astounding amount of cultivated varieties, about 900 in all. Among the best known sweet cherries are the deep burgundy Bing and the yellow, rosy-cheeked Ranier.

Sour cherries, also known as pie cherries, are tart due to high acidity, but when mixed with sugar, this quality makes for a wonderful cobbler or pie. There are about 300 varieties of sour cherries.

Both sweet and sour cherries are descendants of the wild cherry, which had a native range that extended through most of Europe, Western Asia and parts of North Africa. They were consumed in these areas since prehistoric times, and cultivation dates back to 300 B.C.

Cherries are known as “super fruits” because of their high levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants. Tart cherries, in particular, have among the highest levels when compared to other fruits.

In addition, cherries have beta carotene (more than strawberries or blueberries), vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, iron, fiber and folate.

Cherries also contain melatonin, a substance which has been found to regulate the body’s sleep patterns in addition to preventing memory loss and delaying the aging process.

Emerging evidence links cherries to a variety of health benefits, from helping to ease the pain of arthritis and gout to reducing risk factors for diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.

Bright, sweet cherries make a nice pairing on a platter for ripe cheeses such as brie or strongly-flavored goat cheese, and in recipes with mild ricotta cheese.

Cherries are wonderful with both the mild sweetness of white chocolate and the bittersweet taste of dark, either dipped whole or in recipes. Another sweet that works well with cherries is caramel.

Alcohols such as brandy, Gran Marnier and cognac complement cherries, as does kirsch (which in German means “cherry water”), a brandy made with cherries, most often served as an aperitif.

Nuts go well with cherries, too, such as almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios and walnuts. A favorite scone of mine is one with cherries (either fresh or dried), chocolate (either dark or white) and almonds. A heavenly combination!

A refreshing “black fruit salad” – perfect for summer – may be made by combining pitted fresh dark cherries, black grapes, blueberries and black currants with a bit of brown sugar and fresh lemon juice. Let the mixture sit for about two hours, tossing a few times.

Combine the fruit juices that settle on the bottom with sour cream for a topping and garnish with mint.

Cherries soaked in brandy (fantastic over vanilla ice cream or custard) make a nice gift and are easily made.

To do this, fill a container with firm whole cherries, either sweet or sour, add sugar (about one cup to every two pounds of cherries) and fill container to within an inch of the top with brandy. Allow cherries to macerate at room temperature a month or two, and then move to the fridge.

If tart cherries are used, use more sugar, about one and a half cups per two pounds of cherries.

A large portion of the U.S. cherry crop is grown in Michigan, and when a friend of mine returned from visiting her home state, I was presented with a gift of the largest, sweetest, most succulent dried cherries I’ve ever seen.

Other than tossing them in salads, including them in granola and using them in baking, dried cherries, especially the tart ones, may be combined with other fruits, ginger, spices, vinegar and sugar to make an especially pleasing chutney.

I made a cherry-red wine reduction with some of my dried cherry treasures, which I used over puff pastry that I stuffed with Gorgonzola cheese, spinach, walnuts and dried cherries. It can also accompany roasted chicken.

My recipe for the sauce is below, but first, a bit of history.

Below the words to “Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries” are written. It was recorded in 1931 at the height of the Depression, making it especially poignant. Songwriters Lew Brown and Ray Henderson used cherries as a metaphor for enjoyment of the fleeting happy moments of life.

Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries

Life is just a bowl of cherries.

Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious.

You work, you save, you worry so,

But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go.

So keep repeating it's the berries,

The strongest oak must fall,

The sweet things in life, to you were just loaned

So how can you lose what you've never owned?

Life is just a bowl of cherries,

So live and laugh at it all.

And along the way, don’t forget to stop and smell the cherries. (They’re a member of the rose family, after all.)

Red wine-cherry reduction

1 cup red wine, any variety (other than dessert wine)

½ cup unsweetened 100 percent cherry juice *

½ cup reserved water from rehydrating dried cherries *

¼ cup dried cherries (not rehydrated)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

*Or 1 cup cherry juice.

Use wine to deglaze skillet in which chicken was seared.

Add cherry juice (and water, if using) to pan, along with dried cherries.

Simmer steadily, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by about half and coats a spoon.

Add butter and swirl pan or stir until melted.

Note: For vegetarian version, combine liquid in small saucepan rather than skillet and proceed as above.

Recipe by Esther Oertel.

Esther Oertel, the “Veggie Girl,” is a culinary coach and educator and is passionate about local produce. Oertel teaches culinary classes at Chic Le Chef in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., and The Kitchen Gallery in Lakeport, Calif., and gives private cooking lessons. She welcomes your questions and comments; e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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An artist's concept of Aquarius/ SAC-D in orbit. Courtesy of NASA.

A new observatory is about to leave Earth to map a powerful compound of global importance: Common everyday sea salt.

Researchers suspect that the salinity of Earth's oceans has far-reaching effects on climate, much as the salt levels within our bodies influence our own delicate internal balance.

An international team of scientists from NASA and the Space Agency of Argentina, or CONAE, will investigate this possibility with the aid of a satellite named “Aquarius/SAC-D,” which launched June 9.

“Based on decades of historical data gathered from ocean areas by ships and buoys, we know the salinity has changed over the last 40 years,” said Aquarius principal investigator Gary Lagerloef. “This tells us there's something fundamental going on in the water cycle.”

Salinity is increasing in some ocean regions, like the subtropical Atlantic, which means more fresh water is being lost through evaporation at the sea surface.

But no one knows why this is happening; nor can anyone pinpoint why other areas are experiencing more rainfall and lower salinity. To solve these mysteries, scientists need a comprehensive look at global salinity.

A pre-launch view of the back of the Aquarius radiometer. Courtesy of NASA.

Within a few months, Aquarius will collect as many sea surface salinity measurements as the entire 125-year historical record from ships and buoys.

“Salinity, along with temperature, governs the density of seawater,” said Lagerloef. “The saltier the water, the denser it is, and density drives the currents that determine how the ocean moves heat around the planet. For example, the Gulf Stream carries heat to higher latitudes and moderates the climate. When these currents are diverted by density variations, weather patterns such as rainfall and temperature change.”

Scientists have gathered an ensemble of measurements over the ocean – e.g., wind speed and direction, sea surface heights and temperatures, and rainfall. But these data do not provide a complete picture.

“We've been missing a key element – salinity,” said Lagerloef. “A better understanding of ocean salinity will give us a clearer picture of how the sea is tied to the water cycle and help us improve the accuracy of models predicting future climate.”

Aquarius is one of the most sensitive microwave radiometers ever built, and the first NASA sensor to track ocean salinity from space.

“It can detect as little as 0.2 parts salt to 1,000 parts water – about the same as a dash of salt in a gallon of water. A human couldn't taste such a low concentration of salt, yet Aquarius manages to detect it while orbiting 408 miles above the Earth,” said Lagerloef.

The Aquarius radiometer gets some help from other instruments onboard the satellite. One of them helps sort out the distortions of the choppy sea.

CONAE's Sandra Torrusio, principal investigator for the Argentine and other international instruments onboard, explained, “One of our Argentine instruments is another microwave radiometer in a different frequency band that will measure sea surface winds, rainfall, sea ice, and any other 'noise' that could distort the Aquarius salinity measurement. We'll subtract all of that out and retrieve the target signal.”

Torrusio is excited about the mission. “I've met so many new people, not only from Argentina, but from the US and NASA! It's been a great experience to work with them and exchange ideas. We may come from different places, but we all talk the same language. And it isn't English – it's science.”

Working together, these international “people of science” will tell us more about the ocean's role in our planet's balance – and in our own – no matter where we live.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),

It's always our self we find in the sea.

– e.e. cummings

Dauna Coulter works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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Victoria Stahlman of Lower Lake High School in Lower Lake, Calif., won the 2011 Old Time Bluegrass Festival Logo Contest with this illustration. Courtesy of the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association (AMIA) is pleased to announce the winner of the 2011 Old Time Bluegrass Festival Logo Contest.

Victoria Stahlman of Lower Lake High School won the $100 prize with her entry.

Her submission will be used as the logo for the 2011 Old Time Bluegrass Festival.

AMIA wants to make sure everyone knows the festival is happening this year, on Saturday, September 10th.

“The Bluegrass Festival is our major fundraiser and a wonderful community event,” said AMIA Secretary Gae Henry.

While Anderson Marsh State Historic Park was included on a list of state parks proposed for closure earlier this spring, the AMIA said the show is going on.

“We are committed to exploring options for keeping Anderson Marsh State Historic Park open,” Henry said. “Now, more than ever, we need support to help us do whatever we can to keep Anderson Marsh accessible to our community and the public.”

The logo contest was open to all students attending any high school in Lake County, as well as Lake County ninth through 12 graders being home schooled, the group said.

“We like to involve and support as many Lake County students as possible,” said Bluegrass Festival Coordinator Henry Bornstein, “and with the help this year of the Children’s Museum of Art & Science, we were pleased to receive 18 submissions.”

Submissions were judged by the quality of the art work and the suitability for appearing on T-shirts, posters and other promotional materials.

All the original art work will be on display with other art at the “Art in the Barn” display during this year’s sixth annual Old Time Bluegrass Festival, to be held rain or shine from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10.

“Each student who submitted an entry has been sent a “recognition of artistic merit” and will also receive a gift certificate,” said Henry. “Also, to continue a tradition started in 2009, the 2011 submissions will be added to our postcard collection, listing the name and school of each artist. The collection will then contain all the submissions for the past three years and will be for sale at the Bluegrass Festival.”

Find more information about the Bluegrass Festival at www.andersonmarsh.org.

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The stabbings were reported at around 1:30 a.m., with the victims at the gas station at 975 S. Main St., according to radio reports.

A possible suspect was reported leaving the scene driving a blue or black 1990s model Toyota toward downtown, reports indicated.

Paramedics and police responded to the scene.

Additional information on the victims and the incident was not immediately available.

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The first, a 3.3-magnitude quake that occurred at 2:08 p.m., was reported two miles west southwest of Glen Ellen and 10 miles southeast of Santa at a depth of 6.5 miles, according to the US Geological Survey.

By 2 a.m. Sunday the US Geological Survey had received 147 shake reports from 24 zip codes regarding the quake.

At 7:54 p.m., the US Geological Survey issued a preliminary report on a 3.0-magnitude quake that occurred in Lake County.

The survey reported that the quake was recorded just under the earth's surface three miles west of Anderson Springs, four miles east southeast of The Geysers and four miles south southwest of Cobb.

The survey received two shake reports by 2 a.m. Sunday, one from Mill Valley, one from Santa Rosa.

A 3.7-magnitude quake was reported near The Geysers on May 28, as Lake County News has reported.

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This Greenpeace-sponsored blimp will make an appearance in Lake County skies on Tuesday, June 14, and Wednesday, June 15, 2011. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A thermal airship will be conducting aerial operations over the Lake County area on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

The four-seat blimp, sponsored by Greenpeace, will be inflated at Crazy Creek Gliderport in Middletown at about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, and will likely be back on the ground about 8:30.

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Old and new views of the heliosheath. Red and blue spirals are the gracefully curving magnetic field lines of orthodox models. New data from Voyager add a magnetic froth (inset) to the mix. Larger images: old, new. Courtesy of NASA.

NASA's Voyager probes are truly going where no one has gone before.

Gliding silently toward the stars, 9 billion miles from Earth, they are beaming back news from the most distant, unexplored reaches of the solar system.

Mission scientists say the probes have just sent back some very big news indeed.

It's bubbly out there.

“The Voyager probes appear to have entered a strange realm of frothy magnetic bubbles,” said astronomer Merav Opher of Boston University. “This is very surprising.”

According to computer models, the bubbles are large, about 100 million miles wide, so it would take the speedy probes weeks to cross just one of them.

Voyager 1 entered the “foam-zone” around 2007, and Voyager 2 followed about a year later. At first researchers didn't understand what the Voyagers were sensing – but now they have a good idea.

“The sun's magnetic field extends all the way to the edge of the solar system,” explained Opher. “Because the sun spins, its magnetic field becomes twisted and wrinkled, a bit like a ballerina's skirt. Far, far away from the sun, where the Voyagers are now, the folds of the skirt bunch up.”

When a magnetic field gets severely folded like this, interesting things can happen. Lines of magnetic force criss-cross and “reconnect.” (Magnetic reconnection is the same energetic process underlying solar flares.) The crowded folds of the skirt reorganize themselves, sometimes explosively, into foamy magnetic bubbles.

“We never expected to find such a foam at the edge of the solar system, but there it is!” said Opher's colleague, University of Maryland physicist Jim Drake.

Theories dating back to the 1950s had predicted a very different scenario: The distant magnetic field of the sun was supposed to curve around in relatively graceful arcs, eventually folding back to rejoin the sun. The actual bubbles appear to be self-contained and substantially disconnected from the broader solar magnetic field.

Energetic particle sensor readings suggest that the Voyagers are occasionally dipping in and out of the foam – so there might be regions where the old ideas still hold. But there is no question that old models alone cannot explain what the Voyagers have found.

Said Drake: “We are still trying to wrap our minds around the implications of these findings.”

The structure of the sun's distant magnetic field – foam vs. no-foam – is of acute scientific importance because it defines how we interact with the rest of the galaxy.

Researchers call the region where the Voyagers are now “the heliosheath.” It is essentially the border crossing between the Solar System and the rest of the Milky Way. Lots of things try to get across – interstellar clouds, knots of galactic magnetism, cosmic rays and so on.

Will these intruders encounter a riot of bubbly magnetism (the new view) or graceful lines of magnetic force leading back to the sun (the old view)?

The case of cosmic rays is illustrative. Galactic cosmic rays are subatomic particles accelerated to near-light speed by distant black holes and supernova explosions. When these microscopic cannonballs try to enter the solar system, they have to fight through the sun's magnetic field to reach the inner planets.

“The magnetic bubbles could be our first line of defense against cosmic rays,” pointed out Opher. “We haven't figured out yet if this is a good thing or not.”

On one hand, the bubbles would seem to be a very porous shield, allowing many cosmic rays through the gaps. On the other hand, cosmic rays could get trapped inside the bubbles, which would make the froth a very good shield indeed.

“We'll probably discover which is correct as the Voyagers proceed deeper into the froth and learn more about its organization,” said Opher. “This is just the beginning, and I predict more surprises ahead.”

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

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