(WSB photos)

Being an astronomer in Seattle means to be ever-hopeful of a break in the clouds, as Alice Enevoldsen observed during her quarterly change-of-seasons sunset watch.

She and a handful of hardy skywatchers gathered at Solstice Park, where, if the setting sun had been in view, it would have lined up with this granite marker:

Despite its absence, Alice proceeded with her traditional interactive demonstration of where the Earth and Sun are at during the equinoxes and solstices.

She’s been doing this quarterly for a dozen years, as part of her volunteer role as a NASA Solar System Ambassador, and in the spirit of her career as an educator. It’s always on the first sunset after the equinox/solstice moment, so tonight’s schedule was determined by spring’s arrival at 8:33 this morning. Along with showing participants the solar-system basics, she’s there for Q&A, and in the pre-pandemic days led other out-of-this-world events from eclipse viewing to impromptu aurora-seeking. She’s online at alicesastroinfo.com and @alicesastroinfo on Twitter.