That’s Luca, leaping onto the Solstice Park marker that would have lined up with the setting sun tonight, if it had been visible for the sunset closest to the spring equinox (which arrived less than an hour ago, at 9:30 pm – earliest one in more than a century, because of leap year). He and the rest of the nearly 20 people who gathered for NASA Solar System Ambassador Alice Enevoldsen‘s 28th equinox/solstice sunset watch didn’t mind the clouds – which were sparse enough in the east to show the moon:

Alice, as usual, explained many things cosmic, including the path the sun takes across the sky each season, and how that correlates to the three paths that lead to the central viewing circle at Solstice Park.

Even without a sunset alignment to check, attendees admired the view.

Some stayed afterward to talk stargazing with Alice, who offered to help with any skywatching apps that people had installed on their phones. You can follow her on Twitter, and/or check her website, for news of the next sunset watch around the summer solstice, and other updates.