It’s time for the 19th seasonal sunset watch!!

• When: Saturday, December 21 at 4:05pm (so come at 3:30pm)
  • Actual sunset is supposed to be at 4:20pm, but we have noticed that the Sun sets about 10 minutes earlier than the USNO says it does, so I’ve moved the time of our sunset watch up so we don’t miss it.
  • The equinox moment is at 9:11am… but we’re watching the sunset not the sunrise because of how the park lines up.
• Where: Solstice Park – all the way up the hill from the tennis courts (or, if you’re not in Seattle, wherever you have a view of the western horizon!)
• Who: Everyone welcome, as usual.

Parent and Child at Sunset by Kazuhiko Teramoto, skyseeker

Come watch the winter solstice sunset at Solstice Park in West Seattle on Saturday the 21st. We’ll see if the sunset lines up with the placed marker. I’ll be there even if it is cloudy because sometimes the Sun peeks through just as it begins to set, but if it is driving rain or sleet I’m staying home with some hot tea!

If you’re interested – here’s the timing of various celestial events  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):

Saturday 21 December 2013 Pacific Standard Time

SUN
Begin civil twilight 7:19 a.m.
Sunrise 7:55 a.m.
Sun transit 12:08 p.m.
Sunset 4:20 p.m.
End civil twilight 4:56 p.m.

MOON
Moonrise 7:59 p.m. on preceding day
Moon transit 3:09 a.m.
Moonset 10:09 a.m.
Moonrise 8:59 p.m.
Moonset 10:35 a.m. on following day

Phase of the Moon on 21 December: waning gibbous with 83% of the Moon’s visible disk illuminated.

Last quarter Moon on 25 December 2013 at 5:48 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

This event is my part of the NASA’s Solar System Ambassador program, and thanks to West Seattle Blog for publicizing the last few!

Everyone is welcome, see you there!

~ A l i c e !

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