The first night of winter is here – and as has happened for almost every change of seasons since fall 2009, West Seattle’s NASA Solar System Ambassador Alice Enevoldsen (above left) was at Solstice Park for the new season’s first sunset. The sun didn’t show up this time (it did last year!), but no one minded much. Alice led a participatory demonstration, showing how the earth’s axis tilts away from the sun this time of year.

Alice writes “Skies Over West Seattle” for WSB (here’s the most recent edition) and has long kept her own informative site, Alice’s Astro Info. On the first sunset after solstice or equinox, she presides over an educational, entertaining gathering at the park, so if you haven’t gone to one yet, consider marking your calendar for the spring equinox – March 20, 2014.