The great phenomenon is back. The streets of Manhattan will line up with the setting sun for the first time this year on Sunday, giving rise to the spectacular sights known as Manhattanhenge.
The annual event will be visible beginning at 8:12 p.m. Sunday, when the sun will appear at the end of Manhattan’s east-west numbered streets, according to the American Museum of Natural History.
Each subsequent afternoon between Sunday and through July 12, residents of the region will see a similar effect, as the sun lines up between the city’s buildings before dipping under the Hudson River.
However, May 30 and July 11 are scheduled to be the most stunning sunsets of all, when the full sun will be seen in all its spherical wonder across the grid.
The Natural History Museum recommends viewing Manhattanhenge at the following locations:
- Calle 14
- calle 23
- Calle 34
- Calle 42
- calle 57
- Tudor City Flyover, Manhattan
- Hunter’s Point South Park, ciudad de Long Island, Queens
Sunset watchers should find a spot as far east as possible while still having views of New Jersey across the Hudson River, the AMNH recommends.
“Manhattanhenge” was first coined as a term in 1997 by astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, who described the effect in an article in Natural History magazine. It has become a phenomenon in recent years, with crowds filling downtown intersections to catch a glimpse and capture a great photo.
If Manhattan’s street grid were perfectly aligned from north to south, Manhattanhenge would fall perfectly at the summer equinox, when it sets to the west, explains the AMNH. But since the streets of the district are turned about 30 degrees to the east, the alignment days are shifted.
–
