Autumn Arrives
Fall Officially Begins at 2:19 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Tuesday, September 22 -- a good excuse to throw, a few hours later, an impromptu "equinox party" to celebrate the occasion. At equinox, the sun shines directly down somewhere on …
Zodiacal Light
The Zodiacal Light, which can appear as a diffuse, pillar-shaped glow in the eastern sky for up to an hour before dawn, will be quite conspicuous at dark locations this weekend (September 19-20) through next weekend (September 25-26). The subtle …
Crescent Moon and High Tide on Wednesday, September 16
The Highest Tide for September (a not-very-high +6.2 feet), is predicted for 8:10 p.m. on Wednesday, the 16th. The month's lowest tides (a not-very-low minus 0.6 feet) will occur on the mornings of the 16th and 17th at 2:04 a.m. …
Sunset in Rapid Decline
The time of sunset changes most rapidly this time of the year. This is mainly because the sun is swinging rapidly south along the ecliptic (its apparent path through the background stars). From the latitude of San Diego, the sun …
Fall Migrant Birds
Wood warblers and other fall migrants can be seen at Cabrillo National Monument and its vicinity on Point Loma, Torrey Pines State Reserve, and other parks and open spaces near the San Diego coast. Cooper's or marsh hawks and even …
Chaparral Activity
The chaparral, the tangled assortment of low-growing, drought-resistant, native shrubs covering much 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 …
East County Thundershowers Spur Vegetation
Summer thundershowers, having blessed the eastern margin of San Diego County with welcome, if spotty precipitation of late, have triggered a minor growth spurt among certain kinds of vegetation. In the desert, for example, the spidery ocotillo can grow an …
Shore Birds Arrive
Shore Birds migrating southward are beginning to arrive in San Diego County. Through fall and winter various ducks, sandpipers, and plovers will be spotted in increased numbers in the county's coastal wetlands. Best bird-watching spots include the Tijuana River estuary, …
Ocean Temps Dropping Soon
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 …
The August Sky
The Planet Jupiter simply dominates the early-evening eastern sky as August draws to a close. As seen by the naked eye, Jupiter appears as a gleaming yellowish pinpoint of light. High-power binoculars, if held steadily enough, can reveal a barely …
True Jasmine vs. Star Jasmine
Jasmine's thick, sweet odor wafts on the night breezes this time of year, especially throughout the older, well-landscaped neighborhoods of San Diego. The exotic odor is produced by the flowers of true jasmines (genus Jasminum), as opposed to the so-called …
Crescent Moon Tonight
The Crescent Moon returns to the evening sky as a left-leaning, thin smile of light on Saturday, August 22. Look low in the southwestern sky at dusk (7:30-8pm) to spot it. On successive evenings, at the same hour, that smile …
The Milky Way
The Milky Way appears at its most glorious during August summer evenings free of bright moonlight (this year, these evenings occur through about August 24). You'll need to be in the mountains or the desert to see the Milky Way …
Grunion Should Be Eaten (Not Wasted)
Grunion may be active again on area beaches (probably for the last time this year) on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, August 20-22, roughly during the hours of 10pm and 1am, just after the nocturnal highest tide. The small, silvery …
Extreme Low August Tides
The lowest-level extreme tides for the month of August will occur on several occasions next week during the wee hours of the morning. Tuesday, August 18 features a -1.1 foot tide at 2:34am. On Wednesday, there's a -1.3 foot low …
Venus-Moon Pairings
The waning crescent moon joins lanternlike Venus in the eastern sky at dawn on the mornings of Monday, August 17, and Tuesday, August 18. Several more moon-Venus pairings will occur more-or-less monthly in the morning sky until Venus virtually disappears …
The Perseid Meteor Shower
The best known of the many meteor displays that return year after year, the Perseid Meteor Shower will take place under fairly poor conditions this year because of the glare of the moon, which will be in a waning gibbous …
Geography of Contrast
Towering thunderheads have been seen hovering over the wall of mountains east of San Diego in recent weeks. Afternoon rainshowers have already dampened Palomar, Cuyamaca, and Mount Laguna on occasion, with more of the same expected at times during the …
Grunion & Sandpipers
Grunion will be active on area beaches this week (Wednesday through Saturday, August 5-8), roughly during the hours of 10pm and 1am, following the nocturnal high tide. The small, silvery grunion tend to spawn on wide, gently sloping beaches such …
Full Moon Tonight
August's Full Moon rises regally from the east horizon on Wednesday, the 5th, at around 7:40 p.m., close to the time of sunset. This sun-set/moon-rise synchronicity is characteristic of every full moon, because the sun, planet Earth, and the full …