The Waxing Crescent Moon returns to the evening sky Thursday, September 9, its fingernail-shaped thin crescent barely visible above the western horizon some ½ hour after sunset. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the fatter and brighter crescent moon lies close …

The month's lowest tide (a not-very-low minus 0.8 foot) will occur on the morning of September 7th at 2:54am. During September the tidal range is typically minimized. Starting in mid-October, extreme negative tides will begin to occur during the afternoon …

The Chaparral, the tangled assortment of low-growing, drought-resistant, native shrubs covering most of San Diego County's lower mountain slopes, has managed to remain fairly attractive this summer. Unlike many of the scrubby natives near the coast, chaparral plants tend to …

The Milky Way appears at its most glorious during August and September evenings free of moonlight (this year, the most favorable evenings occur from August 30 through September 11). You'll need to be in the mountains or the desert to …

Warm Water Temperatures, into the 70s Fahrenheit over the past several weeks, won't last much longer. As fall approaches, shorter days and increasingly oblique solar radiation will mean that less and less energy will be supplied to the ocean waters …

Grunion Runs are predicted to occur during the late evening hours (generally after 10pm and before 1am), following the nocturnal high tide, August 24 though August 26. The small, silvery grunion tend to spawn on wide, gently sloping beaches such …

Venus, the lanternlike planet shining in the west after sunset, reaches greatest elongation from the sun on Thursday, August 19. That means the planet is illuminated from the side by the sun, as seen from Earth’s perspective. Turn a small …

San Diego's Warmest Weather, on average, should occur in August through early September, according to statistics compiled from several decades of measurements taken near the San Diego International Airport. In an average year, coastal residents enjoy an average daily temperature …

The Perseid Meteor Shower, the best known of the many meteor displays that return annually, will take place under optimum (moon-glare-free) conditions this year. During the hours between midnight and dawn (approximately 4:30am) on the mornings of Thursday, August 12 …

Extreme Low Tides early next week (the lowest levels for the month of August) occur during the wee hours of the morning. Monday, August 9 features a -1.3 foot tide at 3:27am. On Tuesday, there's a -1.3 foot low tide …

Watchers of the Dawn Sky early this month will notice the bright, so-called winter stars (especially those in the constellations of Orion, Taurus, and Gemini) rising just above the rosy glow of morning twilight. The waning crescent moon is currently …

A "Dance of the Planets" begins in the western sky at dusk as July closes. On the evening of Saturday, July 31, notice a close pairing between Saturn (white in color) and Mars (reddish), taking place to the upper left …

Towering Thunderheads have been seen hovering over the mountains east of San Diego in recent weeks. Afternoon rainshowers have already dampened Palomar, Cuyamaca, and Mount Laguna, with more of the same expected at times during the next two or three …

Venus maintains its tenure as this summer's "evening star." The unmistakeably bright second planet from the sun will be glowing in the western sky after sunset for another ten weeks or so. By November, Venus will have disappeared completely as …

The Full Moon rises impressively from the east horizon on Sunday, July 25 at around 7:45pm, very near the time of sunset. Some folk names for the July full moon include "hay moon," "wort moon," "moon of blood" (a reference …

Birdwatchers need not despair now that the winter migrants are gone. Plenty of shore birds can be found on summer evenings in the natural coastal wetland areas of San Diego County. From south to north the publicly accessible coastal wetlands …

Cumulonimbus Clouds, or thunderheads, are most likely to form over San Diego County's deserts and mountains during the latter part of the summer season, beginning about mid July. The clouds appear by midafternoon -- often the result of moist, tropical …

The Heat of Summer will most likely reach its feverish peak in inland San Diego County during July. (Coastal San Diego is different: since its weather is greatly affected by the slowly warming mass of ocean water adjacent to it, …

July's Extreme Low Tides are for early risers only! Check out the local tidepool life without hordes of other people around. Sunday, July 11 features a minus 1.5-foot tide at 3:52am. Monday, July 12 there's a minus 1.6-foot tide at …

The moon is just past third-quarter phase tonight, and it won't rise until midnight. This and every July 4 (technically July 6 this year) is astronomically notable for the fact that it marks Earth's aphelion -- the time when our …