Before summer’s arrival today, Solstice Park sunset watch with Alice Enevoldsen

Unlike last year, the sun skunked this year’s hello-summer sunset viewing at Solstice Park:

It sneaked behind those clouds around 8:45 pm Saturday, about 15 minutes before it would have been in view slipping behind the Olympic Mountains. But sun visibility challenges don’t daunt Alice Enevoldsen, West Seattle-residing NASA Solar System Ambassador and astronomy writer:

As she’s done 25 times now at solstices and equinoxes, Alice hosted the sunset-viewing event to mark the changing of the seasons and explain the astronomy facts of those particular dates of the year. With her in our photo above is the young assistant she chose from the audience to help those in attendance understand the movements of the earth and sun. When visible – the setting sun lines up, at the sunset closest to the solstice, with a certain point at which the park has a granite marker – but they weren’t back yet (backstory here) – the city did place explanatory signs on sticks.

The signs say the markers will be back next month. So you’ll see them for the fall equinox. Might even see the sun, which, though out of sight tonight, left some color in its wake:

Watch for Alice’s work at alicesastroinfo.com and here on WSB in her periodic Skies Over West Seattle updates – next month, she said, she’s hoping to organize a viewing event for the Pluto flyby of the New Horizons spacecraft (launched nine and a half years ago).

5 Replies to "Before summer's arrival today, Solstice Park sunset watch with Alice Enevoldsen"

  • TK June 21, 2015 (7:39 am)

    I’m wondering if at this event, there were several chinese lanterns lit and set up? My husband found 2 different lanterns (a pink one and a yellow one) in our yard this morning. We live in the north admiral area. We are wondering if sending burning litter up into the sky is a good thing? (That was sarcasm.) So if you’re missing your litter, we have it.

    • WSB June 21, 2015 (9:04 am)

      No, there were not, and never have been sky lanterns or anything else burned, sent into the sky, etc. Only prop, a globe. Someone apparently was sending Sky Lanterns up from Don Armeni last night, don’t know why but two people messaged us about it, and that’s likely where those came from.

  • Louisa June 21, 2015 (8:54 am)

    Well done, Alice…Happy Summer!

  • G June 21, 2015 (9:57 am)

    Great detailed info on your website, Alice. Recently, I visited the Mt. Wilson observatory in Pasadena (after watching a Huell Howser episode) and it was spectacular.

  • wsBorn&Bred June 21, 2015 (2:01 pm)

    Even though the sun didn’t cooperate, we really enjoyed this event. It was educational and we look forward to attending more of these. I’m wondering if the sarcastic comment above was maybe a little unnecessary.

Sorry, comment time is over.