Autumn Equinox Sunset Viewing – 2010
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It’s time again! Add it to your calendar – the quarterly sunset viewing at Solstice Park is coming up in just a couple weeks!
- When: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 7:07pm (so come at 6:30pm)
- Where: Solstice Park (or, if you’re not in Seattle, wherever you have a view of the western horizon!)
- Who: Everyone welcome, as usual.
Sunset on June 11, 2009 Credit: Jason Gift Enevoldsen
Come watch the autumn equinox sunset at Solstice Park in West Seattle on Monday. We’ll see if the sunset lines up with the placed marker. I’ll be there even if it is cloudy, but not if the weather is miserable.
If it is clear we’ll bring a telescope or two to take a look at the Moon after the Sun goes down – and maybe Jupiter if we stay until it is dark enough.
If you’re interested – here’s the timing of various celestial events on Saturday from Seattle, courtesy of the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department:
Sun and Moon Data for One Day
The following information is provided for Seattle, King County, Washington (longitude W122.3, latitude N47.6):
Wednesday 22 September 2010 Pacific Daylight Time
SUN
Begin civil twilight 6:25 a.m.
Sunrise 6:56 a.m.
Sun transit 1:02 p.m.
Sunset 7:07 p.m.
End civil twilight 7:38 p.m.MOON
Moonrise 6:10 p.m. on preceding day
Moon transit 12:11 a.m.
Moonset 6:23 a.m.
Moonrise 6:28 p.m.
Moonset 7:27 a.m. on following day
This event is my part of the NASA’s Solar System Ambassadors program, and thanks to West Seattle Blog for publicizing the last few!
Everyone is welcome, see you there!
~ A l i c e !
Alice,
I’ve yet to get to Solstice Park despite good intentions. Would it be a good location to see the rise of the “Super Harvest Moon” (see below) this evening or is the view to the east blocked by the rest of West Seattle? Is there any chance you’ll address this question in the next hour or two?
Thanks much–and thanks for your updates on many things astronomical which I see via the West Seattle Blog.
Best,
Mary
22 September 10
Prepare for the Super Harvest Moon ! For the first time in two decades, the Sun will sink as the full Moon rises exactly opposite to it on the day the summer ends, creating in a strange 360-degree twilight show.
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, today is the autumnal equinox and a Super Harvest Moon will cross the sky after almost 20 years since the last time it happened. When the Sun starts to set on the Western horizon, a full moon will rise opposite to it on the East, reflecting the light of our home star.
Hi Mary,
I would say the view to the east is pretty blocked from Solstice Park. There’s a large hill and a lot of trees. around 9pm or so tonight’s Moon will start to look good from there, but not at moonrise.
South Seattle Community College should have an okay view – or maybe one of the watertower parks – or the West Seattle golf course.
-Alice
Also somewhere with a wide South view, like where Marine View Drive turns into 108th in Arbor Heights.
Thanks for the timely response; it looks like I won’t be seeing you at Solstice Park for sunset tonight. Should I be looking *south* then, as much as east, for the moonrise? -m
A full moon today should rise due East, but when watching for the Moon, the Sun, and planets, it is nice to have an open Southern sky because that’s the part of the sky they move into as they rise higher in the sky during any part of the year.
I’m assuming you’ll want to sit and watch for a little bit, rather than jump up and leave as soon as the Moon finishes crossing the horizon.