Autumn's Evening Entrance to Be Filled With Science and Splendor

Sip all the apple cider you like, line your kitchen counter with cups that formerly held PSL or Pumpkin Spice Latte-inspired beverages, and eat everything with a hefty drizzle of maple: Fall is here, or just about.

The arrival of autumn is something rather special in 2022, for it didn't happen on Sept. 21 (a date that has long been associated with the cooler season's big kick-off) but will atmospherically occur on the evening of Sept. 22.

That "evening" element is the tantalizing twist this time around, for it can often seem that the start of the seasons begins when we're asleep, in the middle of the night, and just like that: We've moved from spring to summer or winter to spring without even being present for the big moment.

But fall fans will have the chance to greet their favorite time of the year during an hour when much of our city is awake: Just before sunset, a time of day that already shares some of autumn's mysterious, velvety, and beautiful characteristics.

Call it the golden season's Golden Hour debut.

If you'd like to truly soak up the seasonal splendor, and savor the science behind the equinox, too?

Griffith Observatory will be hosting a free sunset talk on Sept. 22, as is delightful tradition. (And when we say "as is delightful tradition," we simply mean that the hilltop landmark hosts free events on the solstices and equinoxes when those celestial events coincide with an open day at the observatory.)

No reservation is necessary: Just head up to the Griffith Park destination and enjoy the science-splendid moment as our nearest star goes bye-bye and we slip into the start of a new season, a beginning that is very much about the equaling-up of day and night, at least for a brief time.

But you say you like winter more than fall? Be not blue: You can savor a solstice-themed program at Griffith Observatory on Wednesday, Dec. 21.