New Yorkers Marvel at the Spectacular ‘Manhattanhenge’ Phenomenon

By Le Figaro with AFP, for Le Figaro

Published on 05/31/2023 at 08:49, Updated on 05/31/2023 at 12:53

The “Manhattanhenge” is the astronomical phenomenon during which the sun places perfectly between the skyscrapers of New York. ED JONES/AFP

New Yorkers were able to admire, last night, the sun perfectly placed between the buildings of the city that never sleeps. A phenomenon that will happen again on July 12.

A life-size Instagrammable show took place in New York last night. Hundreds of city residents and tourists came out to admire, mobile phones at arm’s length, the stealthy appearance of the setting sun perfectly placed between the rows of skyscrapers that crisscross the island of Manhattan. At 8:12 p.m., as expected, the star, forming an orange ball in the still blue sky of New York, rose in the distance before disappearing, at the end of the east-west axis drawn by the streets of Manhattan, like the 42nd which crosses Times Square.

«It is a magnificent event. And it’s a totally New York moment“enthuses Jeanette Wolfson, science teacher on Long Island, the island that extends east of New York, who came to take photos to show them to her students the next day. And remind them that, contrary to the visual impression, “it’s not the sun that sets, it’s the earth that turns and turns from light to darksmiles the 47-year-old teacher.

The phenomenon attracts many photographers armed with telephoto lenses, as well as tourists and New Yorkers, who do not hesitate to stop on the roadway, very briefly affecting the ubiquitous traffic of SUVs, yellow taxis and bicycle delivery men who make up the landscape. city ​​of the Big Apple. Camera around his neck, Patrick Batchelder, a 59-year-old photographer, assures us that what matters are “people». «The photo itself is not so important. It’s about being in the middle of the crowd, and enjoying seeing something unique in New York“, explains this regular.

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The phenomenon occurs four times a year

The event occurs four times a year, for two days, approximately three to four weeks before and after the summer and winter solstices. It bears the name “Manhattanhenge”, an allusion to Stonehenge, this great megalithic monument in the south of England, crossed in the center by the sun during the summer and winter solstices.

In New York, according to the checkerboard plan of the island of Manhattan drawn in 1811, the city is cut out like a grid between 14th and 155th streets. On its website, the New York Museum of Natural History recommends taking advantage of the “Manhattanhenge” at 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd or 57th streets, to admire the moment when “the city frames the sunset“, as summarized by its astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson. Those who missed it on Tuesday evening will be able to try their luck again on July 12.

2023-05-31 07:00:00
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