Solstice

Three cheers for sexy! So many times, showing a little sex appeal during the day gets a bad rap. But you can vamp it up without conjuring images of Britney Spears, post-K-Fed. The trick is to artfully show a little skin in places where people least expect it. Lauren Washington's bare back, for example, is the ultimate of sexy - and there's little chance of a wardrobe malfunction when your front is entirely covered. Her bold color choice, too, is not just of-the-moment. It looks great on her skin and is the perfect daytime hue for a summer day. Lauren Washington Age: 24 Residence: Randallstown Job: Owner of Londons Boutique on Charles Street Self-described style: "I think my Gemini sign has a lot to do with my style, [because]

December arrives today. The daylight is fading, but Mars brightens each evening in the northeast. Average daily highs slip from 51 degrees to 42. The records are 77 degrees (1998) and minus-3 (1880). The average snow total at BWI is just 1.7 inches, and four of the last 10 Decembers yielded just a trace, or none. But more than 9 inches fell in 2002 and 2003. The winter solstice occurs early on the 22nd. The moon is full, and Mars is at its brightest, on Christmas Eve.

Mashed potatoes in a martini glass? "They make me feel so elegant," said attorney Shirley Bigley, as she nibbled the caviar-capped mound.Elegance was in the air at the Maryland Science Center's Solstice '99 celebration. Subtitled the "Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer," the fete featured an old-fashioned lawn-party theme, with Astroturfed areas in the Hyatt Regency Hotel offering jim-dandy diversions such as a putting green and a spot of croquet. There also were handouts of hand-cranked ice cream.

Mission: To preserve and augment the existing natural beauty and facilities of the Cylburn Arboretum, a 176-acre nature preserve in the heart of Baltimore with formal and woodland gardens and trails, and Cylburn Mansion, an outstanding example of a post-Civil War dwelling, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and containing original fireplaces, inlaid floors, mosaics, tapestries and ornate plasterworks. Its goal is also to promote knowledge and interest in nature study, conservation, ecology and horticulture through lectures and workshops.

Virgin Mary not doubted by churchThere were two articles in the Dec. 21 Perspective section by gentlemen supposedly scholars and perhaps Catholic. They leave room for doubt.Colman McCarthy seems confused by what he refers to as the "many identities" of Mary. He mentions several titles given to her and raises the question as to whether they are different identities.He could have continued by citing the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, which contains almost 50 titles of praise and honor. But Mary's identity is still the same, as most Catholics will agree: She is the Mother of Jesus.

HAVRE DE GRACE -- So another summer solstice slips astern, and on the far horizon, if we squint, we can make out the faintest outlines of the oncoming winter. It's a long way off still, but after June 21 there's no use pretending it isn't on its way.The June 21 solstice officially marks the beginning of summer, but like so many other official occurrences, that's an example of a tiny factoid swathed in a lot of nonsense. Summer here isn't a three-month affair. It may or may not give way to fall on or around Septenber 21, as it's officially supposed to, but this year, as is the case most years, it had been under way for at least a month before the solstice showed up.And anyway, the solstice, astronomically, marks the moment when the days start getting shorter once again.

IF YOU can believe the physicists, theologians and scholars; if you believe in the star of Bethlehem and astronomical sightings, and, finally, if you believe in how the Gospel accounts sometimes adapt themselves to Old Testament prophecy, then you will not be too surprised to learn that Jesus, by the best of accounts, was born in August of the year 4 B.C.Now we are not sure where this event took place, since Matthew and Luke (the only ones who provide birth...

Like the prodigal son, summer weather returned to Baltimore yesterday after a long, lamented absence. And its warm, humid embrace came just in the nick of time.The summer solstice -- the season's official beginning (or more scientifically, the moment the northern hemisphere is tilted most directly toward the sun) is 4: 20 a.m. today.Yesterday's high temperature of 94 degrees in downtown Baltimore (90 degrees at Baltimore-Washington International Airport) was practically overdue after one of the coolest springs on record.

Midsummer Village FaireFor a weekend celebration including a summer solstice concert, puppet shows, militia muster, strolling musicians, arts and crafts, food and children's activities, attend the Midsummer Village Faire at Historic St. Mary's City.Sponsored by the Neighbors on the Historic Townlands, Historic St. Mary's City, St. Mary's College of Maryland and Trinity Parish, the two-day event also includes narrated river cruises along the St. Mary's River. And you can learn the fine art of creating a traditional Southern Maryland stuffed ham and other tasty morsels during cooking demonstrations.

In a photo caption in yesterday's Howard County edition of The Sun, the name of an event in Highland last weekend -- the Woodstack '97 Summer Solstice Celebration -- was misspelled.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 6/27/97

Statistically speaking, this is the hottest week of the year in Baltimore. The 30-year-average high temperature at BWI-Marshall is 88 degrees, while the average low is a balmy 66. Our hottest days lag behind peak solar heating, around the solstice, thanks to the slow warming and cooling of the air and ocean. We've been lucky with heat so far this summer. But now that I've said it, we're surely in for some scorchers.

The moon is waning now, two days past Tuesday's full "Hay Moon," or "Thunder Moon," if you prefer. That's the first full moon after the summer solstice. If you're up late tonight - after 11 p.m. - look for the moon low in the southeast. It will rise alongside the planet Jupiter, the brightest object (except for the moon) in that part of the sky. Neptune is there, too, but visible only by using a telescope.

What happens when you add a little salsa to your science? You get the Maryland Science Center's "Solstice 2009: Puesta Del Sol," its annual gala with this year's Latin theme. Food stations around the center lobby, and outside under a tent, featured dishes like paella and red snapper with mango salsa. Bars offered sangria or "sunspots" - concoctions of rum, pineapple juice and amaretto served in beakers. A New York City-based band, Jose Conde y Ola Fresca, served up spicy Latin tunes. The evening's major experiment seemed to be salsa lessons.

Tonight's sunset will be the latest of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. For Baltimore, the last direct rays of sunlight will sink below a flat horizon at 8:37 p.m. EDT. At the beach, sunset occurs at 8:28 p.m. Total solar illumination has been diminishing since the solstice June 21, but the air and ocean are slow to respond. So average Maryland temperatures don't start cooling until after July 20.

At 1:45 a.m. Sunday, the sun will reach its northernmost point in the sky, marking our hemisphere's summer solstice. Tomorrow is also the longest period of sunlight of the year, 14 hours 57 minutes in Baltimore. But while the days now begin to shorten overall as sunrise comes later, the sun still sets a few seconds later each evening until the latest sunset, on June 27 at 8:37 p.m.

Man fatally struck by SUV near Essex park-and-ride lot A man was fatally struck by a sport utility vehicle early Friday near a park-and-ride lot in Essex, according to Baltimore County police. The man was hit about 2 a.m. by a westbound Ford Explorer on Eastern Boulevard, just east of Virginia Avenue, police said. The driver of the SUV told police that the man was standing in the inside lane of traffic and made no effort to get out of the way. The driver, whom authorities did not identify, stopped and called 911, according to police.

This morning's sunrise was the earliest of the year, at 5:39 a.m. EDT in Baltimore. But sunsets keep getting later, faster, for another week, so total daylight minutes will increase until the summer solstice June 21. We'll finally see the latest sunset June 27 at 8:37 p.m. EDT. The solar mileposts reverse with the earliest sunset Dec. 7; shortest day Dec. 21; latest sunrise Jan. 4.

If skies clear tonight, watch the full moon rise over Baltimore at 8:54 p.m. (At the beach? Look for it rising over the ocean nine minutes earlier.) This is the third full moon after the vernal equinox, and the last before the solstice June 21. That makes it the Flower, Strawberry or Rose Moon. Speaking of flowers, has anyone else noticed the gush of red roses on gritty Eden Street, south of Fleet? Beautiful.

How has this escaped your attention? T oday is Beltane, one of four cross-quarter days on the old Celtic calendar. It marked the midway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. It was also the start of summer, a time to feast, to light bonfires in the hills and to chase the sheep into cooler summer pastures. And now? A time to light the grill and hose pollen from the deck.

The second full moon since the winter solstice rises over Baltimore tomorrow at 5:59 p.m. Our ancestors knew it as the Wolf Moon, the Snow Moon or the Hunger Moon. It's easy, and chilling, to imagine why. This one rises nine hours after a "penumbral eclipse," a slight darkening of the moon as it passes through the edge of the shadow Earth casts into space. It will be visible from Asia and the Pacific.