That view at about quarter till 9 is the closest we got to seeing the sun as Alice Enevoldsen presided over her 65th change-of-seasons sunset gathering at Solstice Park. On the almost-bright side, no rain! With the help of a volunteer named Drew portraying the sun, Alice led 40+ attendees through her interactive explanation of the solstice (as well as the park’s markers that line up with the setting sun on solstices and equinoxes):

Alice followed that up with Q&A – always an eclectic set of questions; this time, among other things, she was asked to explain the celestial equator. She is a volunteer NASA Solar System Ambassador as well as an astronomy instructor at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor). She’s been hosting solstice/equinox sunset watches – and other skywatching events, like eclipses and auroras – dating back to 2009. You can watch her website for the fall date/time.