The Brief

2024 may be winding down, but as the new year approaches there are still several fascinating astronomical events taking place in December and January. And the good news is: You can see and experience almost all of them with your own eyes.

Keep reading for five space events to look forward to in the next few weeks this winter.

Bundle up for the shortest day: The Winter Solstice

When? Dec. 21

Billions of years ago, when the solar system was first forming, there were many more “mini planets” than the planets we know today. Astronomers believe that at one point, Earth collided with a mini planet called Theia, which caused our planet to tilt by 23 degrees.

Or as Andrew Fraknoi, astronomer and professor at the University of San Francisco’s Fromm Institute, said: “The Earth was in a traffic accident and has never been able to straighten out.”

An illustration shows the illumination of the Earth during various seasons and its movement around the sun.

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Thanks to Theia and that small tilting of our planet, we can now enjoy the changing of the seasons. During the summer, the Northern Hemisphere leans into the sun, and we get more daylight and warmth — while in winter, our planet leans away from the sun, resulting in shorter days and cooler weather.

During the winter solstice that occurs on Dec. 21 this year, Earth will experience the shortest day of the year as our planet goes through “the greatest leaning away” from the sun, Fraknoi said. The sun will rise at 7:21 a.m. and set at 4:54 p.m., giving us only about 10 hours of daylight during the winter solstice — compared to 15 hours of light during the summer solstice.

See the largest planet shining: After effects of Jupiter at Opposition

When? Throughout December

NASA’s Juno mission captured this view of Jupiter’s Southern Hemisphere during the spacecraft’s 39th close flyby of the planet on Jan. 12, 2022.

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Once every 13 months, Earth will be exactly between the sun and planet Jupiter, making the giant planet more bright and visible to the naked eye. While this alignment of the Earth, Jupiter and the sun — what’s known as Jupiter’s opposition — already occurred just a few days ago on Dec. 7, you still have a chance to see the planet as a brighter star for a few more weeks. Jupiter will be visible throughout the night in the south-east and highest in the sky just after midnight.

See the red planet blazing: Mars at Opposition

When? Jan. 16

An illustration of the night sky on Dec. 7 showing the full Cold Moon occulting Mars.

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Another neighboring planet, the fiery Mars, will be in opposition on Jan. 16, when Earth passes between Mars and the sun. During this event, which occurs about every two years, you can look towards the east after sunset and observe Mars as a bright, reddish-orange star. It will be highest in the sky at about midnight.

Look for a (slightly) swollen sun: Earth at Perihelion

When? Jan. 4

The sun radiates huge amounts of electromagnetic energy in all directions. Earth is only one small recipient of the sun’s energy; the sun’s rays extend far out into the solar system, illuminating all the other planets.

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On Jan. 4, 2025, at around 5:30 a.m. PST, our planet will be at “perihelion” — that is, at its closest to the sun. Because of its elliptical orbit, scientists can calculate when the Earth will be at its closest and farthest point from the sun.

At perihelion, the Earth receives 7% more solar energy than when the planet is at its furthest from the sun. To many who aren’t on the lookout, the sun may just look the same as any other day — but it will actually appear slightly larger than any other day in the year.

And finally, the one you can’t see: The Parker Solar Probe will ‘touch the sun’

When? Dec. 24

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - AUGUST 12: In this handout provided by NASA, The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket launches NASA's Parker Solar Probe to touch the Sun from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on August 12, 2018 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Parker Solar Probe is humanity's first-ever mission into a part of the Suns atmosphere called the corona. The probe will directly explore solar processes that are key to understanding and forecasting space weather events that can impact life on Earth.

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On a mission to investigate the mysteries of the largest star in our solar system, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe in 2018 to study the sun’s outer atmosphere: its corona. Since 2018, the probe has completed seven Venus gravity assist maneuvers — also known as flybys — with the recent and final one in November this year.

On Dec. 24, the unmanned spacecraft made out of composite material that can withstand temperatures of up to 2500 F will make history by becoming the closest object ever to the sun. As the probe gets closer to the sun’s orbit, the faster it will go, claiming the title of the fastest vehicle ever made, Fraknoi said.

“It will speed up to 430,000 mph. Don’t try that on Freeway 280,” he said.

LAX officials are considering a proposal Tuesday to increase the fees rideshare companies are charged to access the airport.

Currently, rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft generally pass a $4 to $5 airport fee along to their customers. You might see this listed as a line item on your receipt as an “LAX Airport Surcharge.”

But the Los Angeles World Airports Board of Commissioners could vote to increase that fee by as much as $2 to $8 depending on where the rideshare picks you up or drops you off.

The idea behind the proposal is to encourage the use of the long-awaited, much-delayed and over-budget Automated People Mover once it opens and decrease congestion in the central terminal area, the area of the airport that’s also known as the horseshoe.

David Reich, a deputy executive director for the city agency that manages the airport, told LAist that if the proposal is approved, LAX doesn’t plan on increasing the fee until after the Automated People Mover opens, which could be later this year.

The proposed increases

When the Automated People Mover opens, there will be new curb space for drop-off and pick-up. Known as the “ground transport center,” this new curb space will be a 4-minute trip from the terminal area via the Automated People Mover, according to Reich.

LAX-it will shut down as a rideshare and taxi lot once the train opens, Reich said.

If the proposal is approved, getting an Uber or Lyft to and from the ground transport center will come with a $6 airport fee.

Even once the Automated People Mover opens, you will still be able to get rides directly to and from the curbs along the horseshoe, but they will come with a $12 fee.

The proposed increases would also apply to taxi and limousine services, which currently operate under a slightly different fee structure than rideshare companies.

The increased fees are expected to generate as much as $100 million in the first year the Automated People Mover is usable, according to a report to the board.

Why the different fees for the different locations?

In a report to the board, Reich said the Automated People Mover represents a "significant investment” that aims to “fundamentally reshape how vehicles move through the airport.”

The idea behind having a higher fee for direct access to the curbs along the horseshoe is to encourage “use of new, high-capacity infrastructure” and preserve central terminal access for trips “that most require it.”

Uber is trying to fight the increases

Uber is trying to mobilize the public to fight the proposed fee increases.

“Raising the LAX rideshare fee from $5 to $12 at the curb would punish travelers, working families, and seniors who depend on affordable, reliable transportation,” Danielle Lam, the head of local California policy for Uber, said in a statement.

On Monday, Uber sent an email to passengers who recently used the rideshare service, urging them to write to city officials to “stop this massive fee hike.”

Lyft has not responded to a request for comment.

Ten state lawmakers who are members of the L.A. County delegation sent a letter on Monday to the board expressing their “strong opposition” to the proposed increases.

“Many Angelenos rely on a mix of options, including rideshare services and friends or family dropping off loved ones,” the legislators wrote in the letter. “Managing congestion cannot realistically rely on steep fee increases for certain transportation options.”

Eight of the 10 legislators who signed the letter have received campaign contributions from Uber or Lyft, according to an LAist analysis of state campaign contribution data.

Other ways to access the airport

Now is probably a good time to remind folks that there are other ways to get to the airport that don’t involve rideshares, taxis or even lifts from families and friends.

The FlyAway bus offers regularly scheduled rides from the airport to Union Station in downtown L.A. and Van Nuys. You can see the schedules here. 

Last year, the countywide transportation agency unveiled the LAX/Metro Transit center, which is accessible from the C and K rail lines and several bus routes. For now, an LAX shuttle is bringing travelers from the station to the airport. It will be one of the stops on the Automated People Mover once it opens.

The Newport Beach City Council is considering demolishing part of its quirky, beloved sculpture garden in Civic Center Park to make way for a new police station.

The city has been trying to figure out how to replace its aging police headquarters for years. It bought a property in 2022 with that intent. But an ad hoc City Council committee decided, controversially, it might be better to instead build a new station on the parkland next to city hall.

What’s so great about the sculpture garden?

The sculpture garden is a “museum without walls” treasured by art and nature lovers alike. It houses the quirky and once-controversial “Bunnyhenge,” included on the popular Atlas Obscura travel guide. Opponents of putting a new police headquarters on park grounds say it would compromise the environment, and decimate the sculpture garden.

What do supporters of the new station idea say?

Supporters say the current police station, built in 1973, is long overdue for an upgrade, and that the police force needs more space for things like servers to store digital evidence. The council ad hoc committee that studied the issue says the Civic Center parkland makes the most sense for a new building because the city already owns the land, and it would consolidate the city’s main services in one place.

Is it a done deal?

Far from it. The City Council is holding a study session Tuesday to present the plan publicly and gather input. If the council decides to go forward, the next step would be to hire a consultant to design the building and get started on an environmental impact report.

Here’s how to learn more and weigh in:

A new exhibit in L.A. — Vehicles of Expression: The Craft of the Skateboard — arrives this weekend, highlighting the cultural impact, history and artistry of handmade skateboards.

It’s the latest exhibit at Craft in America Center, a museum and library that highlights handcrafted artwork.

Todd Huber, skateboard historian and founder of the Skateboarding Hall of Fame, said before 1962, it wasn’t possible to buy a skateboard in a store.

“Skateboarding started as a craft,” Huber said on AirTalk, LAst 89.3’s daily news program. “Somewhere in the 50s until 1962, if you wanted to sidewalk surf, as they called it, you had to make your own out of roller skates.”

What to expect

Emily Zaiden, the director and lead curator of the Craft in America Center based in Los Angeles, told LAist’s AirTalk the exhibit was tricky to curate.

“What we wanted to do was focus on both the history and then expand into how this has been an object that people have interpreted in so many different ways since the very beginning,” Zaiden said.

Artists who craft skateboards not only think of design, but also of the features that give riders the ability to do tricks, such as wheelies and kickflips.

“The ways that people have constructed boards, engineered boards, design boards … people are really renegade, which I think is really the spirit of skateboarding overall,” Zaiden said. “This very independent, out-of-the-box approach and making boards that allow them to do all kinds of wacky tricks and do all kinds of things that no one imagined possible physically with their body, but through the object of the board.”

Know before you go

The exhibit at Craft in America Center opens to the public on Saturday. Admission is free. The museum is open from noon to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.